By Zoltan Simon, Bloomberg News
The Moderna and Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines both edged the version from Pfizer and BioNTech in effectiveness in a large-scale study of five different immunization shots conducted by Hungarian researchers.
Moderna’s vaccine was 88.7% effective in protecting against coronavirus infection and 93.6% effective against COVID-related mortality, compared with 85.7% and 95.4%, respectively, for Sputnik, according to the paper published Wednesday on the website of the Clinical Microbiology and Infection medical journal. Pfizer came in third with 83.3% and 90.6%, respectively.
The research reviewed the effectiveness of five vaccines in people at least seven days after they received their second dose. Data from more than 3.7 million vaccinated people aged 16 and over were reviewed from January to June of this year.
“The wide range of vaccines available in Hungary allows for the assessment of vaccine effectiveness in a real-world setting in a Central European country and puts Hungary in the unique position of providing detailed information on multiple vaccine types from the same country,” the authors, including Hungary’s minister in charge of health care, Miklos Kasler, and chief medical officer Cecilia Muller, wrote in the study.
Pfizer was administered most frequently, to 1.5 million people, followed by China’s Sinopharm at 895,465, Russia’s Sputnik V at 820,560, AstraZeneca at 304,138 and Moderna at 222,892, according to the study. Pfizer and China’s Sinopharm had the highest share of vaccines administered to those aged 65 and over, while Sputnik had the lowest share, data showed.
In Oregon, Pfizer’s vaccine has also been given most broadly. But Moderna’s also has been widely administered, with the Johnson & Johnson single shot vaccine, which was not included in the Hungarian study, much less widely given.
The Oregon Health Authority reported Wednesday that the state’s residents have received 3,479,971 doses of Pfizer Comirnaty, 58,111 doses of Pfizer pediatric, 2,222,628 doses of Moderna and 241,258 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines.
The Hungarian study raised questions about the effectiveness of two vaccines not given in the U.S. for very elderly patients. Both the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines had less than 50% effectiveness against COVID-19 infection in people aged 85 and older, according to the study. That compared with 84.1% for the same age group for Moderna and 74.3% for Pfizer.
Hungary had among the world’s highest COVID-related deaths per capita earlier this year. The country, whose vaccination rates lag the western European average, reported a record number of daily infections on Wednesday as the fourth wave of the virus continued to spread.
-- Bloomberg News via Tribune New Service
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