CDC: Pfizer, Moderna vaccines are 90% effective after two doses in study of real-life conditions

[USALiberal]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/03/29/vaccine-effective-essential-workers-study/

Pfizer, Moderna vaccines are 90% effective after two doses in study of real-life conditions, CDC confirms
Report on essential workers is one of the first to estimate protection against any infection, regardless of symptoms

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines being deployed to fight the coronavirus pandemic are robustly effective in preventing infections in real-life conditions, according to a federal study released Monday that provides reassurance of protection for front-line workers in the United States.

In a study of about 4,000 health-care personnel, police, firefighters and other essential workers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the vaccines reduced the risk of infection by 80 percent after one shot. Protection increased to 90 percent following the second dose. The findings are consistent with clinical trial results and studies showing strong effectiveness in Israel and the United Kingdom, and in initial studies of health-care workers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center and in Southern California.

The CDC report is significant, experts said, because it analyzed how well the vaccines worked among a diverse group of front-line working-age adults whose jobs make them more likely to be exposed to the virus and to spread it.

The workers came from eight locations in six states — Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas and Utah. They received vaccinations between mid-December, when the doses first became available, to mid-March, a 13-week period that included the deadly winter surge that was killing more than 3,000 people a day by January. The study is also one of the first to estimate vaccine effectiveness among participants against infection — rather than just monitoring for symptomatic cases — including infections that did not result in symptoms, according to the CDC.

Among 2,479 fully vaccinated people, just three had confirmed infections. Among 477 people who received one dose, eight infections were reported.

By comparison, among 994 people who were not vaccinated, 161 developed infections.

No deaths were reported.

More at link....

[forthemiddle]

1. Excellent news!

If we can eliminate (or greatly reduce), hospitalizations and death, Covid becomes a manageable disease!

[beaglelover]

2. Absolutely! And life can return to normal.

Any by normal, I mean no masks, no social distancing, the works. We will get there eventually I am sure!

[Celerity]

3. The study did not provide an estimate of the vaccines' benefits against the virus variants

circulating in the United States.

But infectious-disease experts are worried the pace needs to be faster to reach the high levels of immunity needed to slow the virus, especially as more transmissible variants spread throughout the country. To reach the level of protection needed, about 80 percent of the population has to be immunized, meaning that about 260 million people need to get vaccinated. That would require 3 million to 3.5 million shots being administered each day until April 30.

[LuckyCharms]

4. This is what worries me, considering the anti-vax mindset of what seems to be

a large portion of our population.

[Celerity]

8. Tomorrow afternoon my wife and I get a brand new variant-tweaked Moderna vax as we're part

a new trial here in Sweden.

more detail:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215265123

[LuckyCharms]

9. Fantastic! Thank you for being part of the study...

and I wish you both the best.

[Celerity]

13. YW and I will post on it when any relevant events occur.

[Blue_true]

12. Maybe my concern is overblown, but what I am concerned about is

people that have been vaccinated prematurely dropping masks and social distancing. Maybe I am off base, but I would not bet against a SARS-COV-2 variant infecting a vaccinated person, who asymptomatically infect people with a new variant that has the capability to completely defeat vaccines. The South African and Brazilian first variants showed the capacity to partially defeat vaccines, with vaccinated people going back to old behavior too soon, a lab type situation would be set up for variants to mutate against the vaccines effectively (bad for us, good for the virus). Brazil is particularly scary, because vaccines will be introduced to an almost completely out of control situation, where variants that are even more adept than the first on at defeating vaccines may have gained a toehold, and will use the introduction of more vaccination as a stepping stone toward making themselves impossible to control.

[Celerity]

14. great post, you are on the same track as I am

[BannonsLiver]

5. Bookmarking

For when alarmists post anecdotal doomsday twaddle because their cousin’s brother’s sister in law got infected after vaccinations.

[USALiberal]

18. +1000! nt

[FBaggins]

6. With those numbers... the single dose could make sense

Vaccinate the remainder of the population twice as fast... and then circle back for the second dose when they’re available

[Pobeka]

10. No data to know that, everyone in the trial got 2 doses, approx 21 days apart.

There is only a 1 week period where they evaluated the single dose (14 to 21 days post dose 1).

There is no data to show efficacy of a single dose beyone 21 days.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7013e3.htm?s_cid=mm7013e3_e&ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM53321&ACSTrackingLabel=MMWR%20Early%20Release%20-%20Vol.%2070%2C%20March%2029%2C%202021&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM53321

Prospective cohorts of 3,950 health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers completed weekly SARS-CoV-2 testing for 13 consecutive weeks. Under real-world conditions, mRNA vaccine effectiveness of full immunization (≥14 days after second dose) was 90% against SARS-CoV-2 infections regardless of symptom status; vaccine effectiveness of partial immunization (≥14 days after first dose but before second dose) was 80%.

[LisaL]

11. They are doing two doses for a reason.

Single dose didn't produce a lot of antibodies. They don't want your immunity to only last a short time.

[Disaffected]

7. Anyone know

what the risks of hospitalization and death are after one dose (assuming 3 or 4 weeks after injection)?

I'm not due for my second for another week and am wondering how safe it is at this time.

[Blue_true]

15. Keep doing what you have done to this point, before and after your

second shot. We won’t be out of the woods until 80+% of people are vaccinated, we know that we have a hardcore of antivax idiots that will make it difficult to get to 80+%.

[Ms. Toad]

16. 80% reduced risk of infection

- that includes (but is not limited to) hospitalization or death.

[Disaffected]

19. OK but the reduction in

hospitalization or death is apparently essentially 100% for 2 doses. My question was what is the equivalent percentage reduction for 1 dose?

[Ms. Toad]

20. There were no hospitalizations or deaths in the US group.

I'm far more interested in reduction in infections, since that is what will get us out of this mess.

As long as we don't stop the infections, it will continue to be every person fending for themselves - and we will continue to grow variants that may be able to outsmart the vaccine (includng variants that cause hospitalization and death).

[Ms. Toad]

17. This is now the 2nd study which confirms that it prevents infection,

rather than just minimizing the severity of the disease.

That's good news for slowing the spread. People vaccinated are unlikely to be asymptomatic spreaders, since this study was were testing for infection - not just severe disease.

Bad news - the variants are too recent to be included in the tests in any significant quantity.

[Beringia]

21. Great