A new study has found that the US-made Moderna COVID-19 vaccine leads to more side effects than Pfizer vaccine which was developed by German company BioNTechwith the support of American firm Pfizer.
The data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that individuals who receive the Moderna vaccine are more likely to experience post-vaccine adverse reactions and side effects, according to a study published in the online journal JAMA.
The Moderna vaccine is developed by the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and Moderna.
The study is based on patient data from the CDC’s V-Safe which is a text message-based program designed to track side effects in vaccine recipients.
The data showed incidents of injection site pain, fatigue, itching, and headaches, among other effects.
The study did not include life-threatening episodes, anaphylactic episodes and other allergic reactions.
About 70 percent of over 3,600,000 people, who got their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before February 21st enrolled in v-safe and checked in at least once, said they had some kind of injection site reaction, like pain or swelling, and half had a more generalized reaction like fatigue or chills.
According to the survey, people who got a Moderna shot were more likely to have a side effect — 73 percent had an injection site reaction, compared with 65 percent of people who had a Pfizer/BioNTech dose. About 51 percent of Moderna recipients had full-body symptoms, compared with 48 percent of people who got Pfizer/BioNTech.
The study came after such reactions, including life-threatening episodes, known as anaphylaxis, were reported in the United States after vaccinations of Pfizer and Moderna shots.
In January, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said allergic reactions were occurring at a rate of over 11 per one million vaccinations.
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are the first two COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the UA Food and Drug Administration for emergency use and already have been given to millions of Americans.
Most of the severe allergic reactions to these vaccines have occurred in people with a history of allergies. A substantial number of these people had previously experienced an anaphylaxis reaction.