Table 1. Characteristics of the Phase III COVID-19 Vaccine Randomized Clinical Trial Informed Consent Documentsa.
| Metric | Pfizer | Johnson & Johnson | Moderna | AstraZeneca | Mean | Proposed alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length, pages, No. | 25 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 21.8 | 10 |
| Document reading time, min | ||||||
| 175 wpm (lower bound) | 44.7 | 47.7 | 53.4 | 44.7 | 47.6 | 16.9 |
| 240 wpm (mean) | 32.6 | 34.8 | 38.9 | 32.6 | 34.7 | 12.3 |
| 300 wpm (upper bound) | 26.1 | 27.8 | 31.1 | 26.1 | 27.8 | 9.9 |
| Word count, No. | ||||||
| Whole document | 7828 | 8341 | 9340 | 7821 | 8333 | 2960 |
| Risk section | 884 | 989 | 1445 | 977 | 1074 | 200 |
| Privacy section | 2478 | 1955 | 1280 | 1750 | 1866 | 778 |
| Reading grade level | ||||||
| Whole document | 9.8 | 8.8 | 9.6 | 11.3 | 9.9 | 7.6 |
| Risks section | 9.5 | 8.5 | 9.4 | 11.2 | 9.7 | 6.1 |
| Privacy section | 11.7 | 10.7 | 11.5 | 13.1 | 11.8 | 9.6 |
| Reading easeb | ||||||
| Whole document | 52.2 | 56.8 | 51.1 | 49.6 | 52.4 | 61.8 |
| Risks section | 58.8 | 56.8 | 54.8 | 46.9 | 54.3 | 71.2 |
| Privacy section | 39.8 | 48.7 | 40.3 | 41.0 | 42.5 | 53.8 |
Abbreviation: wpm, words per minute.
a
Range, 0 to 100, with 100 indicating easiest to read and scores less than 60 considered difficult by the Department of Health and Human Services.