icon star paper   COVID-19  
Back grey_arrow_rt.gif
 
 
CDC - Interim Estilates of Vaccine effectiveness in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection
 
 
  Download the PDF here
 
"Vaccine effectiveness of full immunization with two doses of mRNA vaccines was 90% (95% CI = 68%-97%) against RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings are consistent with those from the mRNA vaccines' Phase III trials (1,2) and recent observational studies of the mRNA vaccine effectiveness against severe COVID-19 (3). The findings complement and expand upon these preceding reports by demonstrating that the vaccines can also reduce the risk for infection regardless of COVID-19-associated illness symptom status (4,5). Reducing the risk for transmissible infection, which can occur among persons with asymptomatic infection or among persons several days before symptoms onset (6), is especially important among health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers given their potential to transmit the virus through frequent close contact with patients and the public.
 
These interim vaccine effectiveness findings for both Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's mRNA vaccines in real-world conditions complement and expand upon the vaccine effectiveness estimates from other recent studies (3-5) and demonstrate that current vaccination efforts are resulting in substantial preventive benefits among working-age adults. They reinforce CDC's recommendation of full 2-dose immunization with mRNA vaccines. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all eligible persons, which currently varies by location in the United States."
 
Interim Estimates of Vaccine Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Health Care Personnel, First Responders, and Other Essential and Frontline Workers - Eight U.S. Locations, December 2020-March 2021 Weekly / April 2, 2021 / 70(13);495-500
 
On March 29, 2021, this report was posted online as an MMWR Early Release.
 

mRNA

Summary
 
What is already known about this topic?

 
Messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be effective in preventing symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in randomized placebo-controlled Phase III trials. What is added by this report?
 
Prospective cohorts of 3,950 health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers completed weekly SARS-CoV-2 testing for 13 consecutive weeks. Under real-world conditions, mRNA vaccine effectiveness of full immunization (≥14 days after second dose) was 90% against SARS-CoV-2 infections regardless of symptom status; vaccine effectiveness of partial immunization (≥14 days after first dose but before second dose) was 80%.
 
What are the implications for public health practice?
 
HEROES-RECOVER is a network of longitudinal cohorts in eight locations (Phoenix, Tucson, and other areas in Arizona; Miami, Florida; Duluth, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Temple, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah) that share a common protocol and methods.** Enrollment in this longitudinal study started in July 2020 and included health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers who provided written consent. Authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in real-world conditions. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all eligible persons. Messenger RNA (mRNA) BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) COVID-19 vaccines have been shown to be effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in randomized placebo-controlled Phase III trials (1,2); however, the benefits of these vaccines for preventing asymptomatic and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) infection, particularly when administered in real-world conditions, is less well understood. Using prospective cohorts of health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers* in eight U.S. locations during December 14, 2020-March 13, 2021, CDC routinely tested for SARS-CoV-2 infections every week regardless of symptom status and at the onset of symptoms consistent with COVID-19-associated illness. Among 3,950 participants with no previous laboratory documentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection, 2,479 (62.8%) received both recommended mRNA doses and 477 (12.1%) received only one dose of mRNA vaccine. Among unvaccinated participants, 1.38 SARS-CoV-2 infections were confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) per 1,000 person-days. In contrast, among fully immunized (≥14 days after second dose) persons, 0.04 infections per 1,000 person-days were reported, and among partially immunized (≥14 days after first dose and before second dose) persons, 0.19 infections per 1,000 person-days were reported. Estimated mRNA vaccine effectiveness for prevention of infection, adjusted for study site, was 90% for full immunization and 80% for partial immunization. These findings indicate that authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are effective for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, regardless of symptom status, among working-age adults in real-world conditions. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all eligible persons.
 
Discussion
 
Prospective cohorts of health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers over 13 weeks in eight U.S. locations confirmed that authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech's BNT162b2 and Moderna's mRNA-1273) are highly effective in real-world conditions. Vaccine effectiveness of full immunization with two doses of mRNA vaccines was 90% (95% CI = 68%-97%) against RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. These findings are consistent with those from the mRNA vaccines' Phase III trials (1,2) and recent observational studies of the mRNA vaccine effectiveness against severe COVID-19 (3). The findings complement and expand upon these preceding reports by demonstrating that the vaccines can also reduce the risk for infection regardless of COVID-19-associated illness symptom status (4,5). Reducing the risk for transmissible infection, which can occur among persons with asymptomatic infection or among persons several days before symptoms onset (6), is especially important among health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers given their potential to transmit the virus through frequent close contact with patients and the public.

 
 
 
 
  icon paper stack View Older Articles   Back to Top   www.natap.org