Covid19 Study : Moderna creates more antibodies than Pfizer
Moderna Inc.’s Covid vaccine generated more than double the antibodies of a similar shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in research directly comparing immune responses to the inoculations.
A study of almost 2,500 workers at a major Belgium hospital system found antibody levels among individuals who hadn’t been infected with the coronavirus before getting two doses of the Moderna vaccine averaged 2,881 units per milliliter, compared with 1,108 units/mL in an equivalent group who got two jabs of the Pfizer shot.
The study suggested a couple of reasons for the antibody level differences between vaccines, including a longer interval between shots for Moderna’s vaccine 4 weeks compared to Pfizer’s 3 weeks. As well, the researchers said the Moderna shot had a higher concentration of the key active ingredient used in both vaccines.
A new study has shown that two months after the second Pfizer/Moderna vaccination, antibody response decreases 20 per cent in adults with prior cases of COVID-19. The study also tested how well current vaccines resist emerging variants.
The Northwestern University study underscored the importance of receiving a second dose of vaccine, not only because it is commonly known that immunity from vaccines wanes over time, but also because of the risk posed by emerging variants, including the highly contagious delta variant.
“As far as protection goes after vaccination, the story is the same for all the variants, including delta the vaccine provides good protection, but not as good protection as the original version of the virus for which the vaccine was designed. Combine that with the fact that immunity wanes over time, you get increased vulnerability to breakthrough infection. “So, it’s two strikes right now delta plus waning immunity among the first wave of the vaccinated,” McDade professor of anthropology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a faculty fellow with the University’s Institute for Policy Research said.
