Table 2.
Influenza and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine comparison
| Influenza Vaccine | SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Inactivated, quadrivalent vaccine (live attenuated or recombinant vaccines also available) | mRNA vaccine | DNA viral vector | |
| Mechanism | Surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin | RNA leads to generation of spike protein found on coronavirus and creation of antibodies against it | Modified virus is a vector carrying for COVID spike protein to trigger immune response | |
| Brands | Not applicable | Pfizer-BioNTech | Moderna | Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen (J&J) |
| Frequency of dosing | Annual | 2 injections 21 d apart + booster | 2 injections 28 d apart + booster | 1 dose + booster |
| % Effectiveness | 40–60 | 90 | 95 | 66 |
| Population recommended for | 6 mo and older | 6 mo and older | 6 mo and older | > 18 years old |