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STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Early November 2020, Pfizer announced its vaccine is more than 90% effective. One week later, Moderna — which designed its vaccine candidate in just two days — boasted a 94.5% effectiveness rating
- Clinical trial data leave out crucial information, such as the cycle threshold used for the PCR testing, whether “cases” had symptoms or not, and how long the vaccine lasts if protective
- None of the COVID-19 trials for which we have data are designed to find out whether the vaccine reduces hospitalization rates or deaths. They only look at whether it reduces symptoms if you do get infected
- The estimated number needed to vaccinate (NNTV) for Moderna’s vaccine is 167, meaning 167 people must receive the vaccine in order to prevent one case of COVID-19
- The estimated NNTV for Pfizer’s vaccine candidate is 256