More vaccines are showing efficacy – to varying degrees

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“The first vaccines were available just before Christmas, and today more than 82 million doses have already been vaccinated worldwide – that’s unprecedented.” Austrian Infectiologist Herwig Kollaritsch is confident about the start-up of “the largest vaccination campaign in human history.”

Most doses have been administered so far in the U.S. (about 25 million), China (23 million), the U.K. (8 million) and Israel (4.5 million) – meaning Israel has vaccinated the largest share of the population so far (about 33 percent).

Friday also saw new trial data from two other manufacturers:

Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)

This vector virus vaccine can prevent covid 19 disease 66 percent of the time, according to company data. Efficacy was higher in the U.S. (where the old virus variant still dominates) (72%) and lowest in South Africa (57%). Severe courses of disease were prevented 85% of the time. The EMA is already reviewing the vaccine, and the marketing authorization application is expected to be submitted in the coming weeks. This vaccine could then become the fourth approved in the EU. “Its advantage is that it requires only one dose,” says Kollaritsch.

Novavax

Efficacy also proved the vaccine of this U.S. pharmaceutical company, according to data published Thursday: For the previous virus variants, its effectiveness in preventing disease was nearly 96 percent, and for the British one, it was still 86 percent. Only with the South African variant was it lower (50 percent), but more data are needed here.

Curevac, the German manufacturer of an mRNA vaccine, also plans to present its trial data at the end of the first quarter. Hopes are high that it will work as well as the other two RNA vaccines. Says Kollaritsch: “Overall, the chances are very good that the current supply bottlenecks will be history in the foreseeable future.”