Table 3.
Summary of data for COVID-19 vaccines approved∗ to date (as of February 2021).
| Vaccine | Phase III data | Special features | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| BNT162b2 (Tozinameran; Comirnaty) (BioNTech and Pfizer) RNA (embedded in lipid nanoparticles) encodes a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein |
N = 43,548 (randomised 1:1 vaccine vs. placebo) Efficacy 95% (9 vaccinated vs. 169 controls with COVID-19) 10 cases of severe COVID-19; 9 in the placebo group Safety: Injection site reactions and systemic AEs (headache, fever, fatigue) most mild to moderate. SAE rates were below 4%. |
2 doses (30 μg) 21 days apart Storage at a temperature of -90 to -60°C for 6 months, storage at 2 to 8°C for up to 5 days and for up to 2 hours at room temperature (up to 30°C). |
42 |
| mRNA-1273 (Moderna) RNA (embedded in lipid nanoparticles) encodes a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein |
N = 30,420 (randomised 1:1 vaccine vs. placebo) Efficacy 94.1% (11 vaccinated vs. 185 controls with COVID-19) 30 cases of severe COVID-19 only in the placebo group Safety: Injection site reactions and systemic AEs (headache, fever, fatigue) most mild to moderate. SAE rates were low after the first dose and increased to around 16% after the second dose. |
2 doses (100 μg) 28 days apart Storage at a temperature of -25 to -15 °C for 7 months, storage at 2 to 8°C for up to 30 days and at 8–25°C for up to 12 hours, 6 hours after first dose was taken. |
43 |
| ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD122) (AstraZenenca and University of Oxford) replication-deficient chimpanzee adenovirus vector, containing the full-length codon-optimised coding sequence of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. |
Interim analysis (N = 11,636 from Brazil, South Africa, UK) Vaccine vs. MenACWY Efficacy 70.4% (30 [0.5%] of 5,807 vaccine recipients vs. 101 [1.7%] of 5,829 controls with COVID-19) Efficacy with 2 standard doses 62.1% Efficacy low dose/standard dose 90.0% Efficacy after 1 standard dose 64.1% Safety: 175 SAEs in 168 participants, 84 SAEs in the vaccine group and 91 in the control group. |
2 doses. A second dose could be given between 4 and 12 weeks after the first dose. Detailed storage information pending but expected to be less complex (stable at 2–8°C). The number of patients aged ≥70 years was low (3.8%). | 44 |
AE, adverse event; SAE, serious adverse event (grade 3); MenACWY, meningococcal group A, C, W, and Y conjugate vaccine. ∗by EMA or FDA (AZD122 so far only authorised in the UK, EMA/FDA approval was pending at submission of the manuscript).