Confused and Unvaccinated: Untangling the COVID-19 Vaccine Knots

CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines are now here and they come in different variations. Out of the hundreds of vaccines that are being tested, eight (8) of them are approved and used in our country as of April 19, 2021 (Department of Health, 2021). They are Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Gamaleya, Jannsen, Bharat, Moderna, and Novavax. Each of these vaccines has different dosages and efficacies. Which vaccine will you choose?

First, we should understand that efficacy and effectiveness are two different things. The efficacy of vaccines refers to how well they will perform in the real world, this means it measures how successful it is in stopping the virus from spreading. Efficacy of vaccines on the other hand refers to the degree it can prevent diseases and transmission in a perfect and controlled world, this means that it measures how much a vaccine reduces the spread of the virus in a population that was vaccinated versus a population that was not vaccinated.

To better understand these concepts, let us say for example that a vaccine has a 90% efficacy. This data was obtained by studying two groups of people that each has 100 members. Group A was injected with a vaccine, while Group B was not. After a few weeks, results came and all 100 members of Group B got infected with the virus, while for Group A, there were only 10 members who got infected. In this data, we can see that the vaccine that was injected in Group A was able to reduce the number of infected members by 90 people or 90%. Take note that this example was imagined in a perfect world wherein everyone had the same conditions. Effectiveness is almost the same but it also has to take into consideration factors like underlying chronic illnesses, medications, dosage storage, and many more.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), these are the following efficacies of the vaccines. Pfizer has 95% against symptomatic COVID-19; Astrazeneca has a 70.4% against symptomatic cases but 100% against severe cases; Sinovac has a 65% - 91%; Gamaleya has a 91.6% against symptomatic cases but 100% against moderate or severe cases; Jannsen has 66.1% - 66.9% against moderate to severe cases; Bharat has 80.6% against PCR-confirmed symptomatic cases; Moderna has 94.1% against symptomatic cases but 100% against severe cases; and Novavax is still pending for the release of its official efficacy.

That’s a lot of numbers, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that all vaccines are equal and that they don’t lean on or recommend a specific vaccine brand. According to the CDC, the best option is to take the first FDA-authorized vaccine that is available because they are safe, effective, and will reduce the risk of severe illness. However, some people might still have preferences over other vaccines. But, why are there so many vaccines in the first place?

The World Health Organization (WHO) answers, having many developers of vaccines will increase the chances of creating a vaccine that is successful, safe, and efficacious. To better understand this, let us say for example that 100 vaccines are being tested on animals, roughly 7 out of 100 of these vaccines are successful enough to be tested on humans and only 1 out of 5 of those vaccines will be successful enough to achieve the intended purpose of immuning the people from a virus or disease. That is why, the more vaccine developers there are, the more chance that we have to create a vaccine that can fight the virus.

The only problem is that the virus isn’t giving up either. According to the New York Times, the virus now has two variants. The first variant known as ‘B.1.1.7’ that originated in the U.K is said to be more contagious than the original variant from Wuhan, China. The second variant known as ‘B.1.617.2’ that originated in India is said to be the most contagious among the three variants. The symptoms and effects of these variants are said to be the same, the only difference is that the newer variants tend to spread faster.

As of the moment, the CDC states that there is not enough information yet on how well the vaccines will work on the new variants. They claim that they will first continue to monitor the situation

and observe how the impact of the new variants will affect the effectiveness of the vaccine. But there is one thing that we do know, current data suggests that the vaccines will work on most of the variants, but some might still cause illness even after a person is vaccinated. Regardless, according to Mayo Clinic, fully vaccinated people can now not wear masks and proceed to do activities they weren’t able to do before unless they are required to do so by the law or an establishment that they are in. Whether or not a person is vaccinated, they should still obey the rules that they are asked to do so. However, the CDC suggests that fully vaccinated individuals should still get tested if they show signs of COVID symptoms. Confused and Unvaccinated Untangling the covid-19 vaccine knots