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posted by martyb on Wednesday December 01 2021, @02:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the We're-all-gonna-die,-eventually,-but-let's-not-speed-things-up! dept.

[Ed note: This story combines reports from two separate articles. In the first report are results comparing the likelihood of being infected (and surviving) after having one of the three vaccines that are commonly available in the US. The second report compares the risk of death that results from being infected subsequent to being vaccinated (from the same set of three commonly-available vaccines). No vaccine is perfect; get your booster when it is available; wear a mask in public indoor spaces; and get tested regularly. The life you save may be that of a family member, loved-one, or co-worker! Emphasis retained from originals.--martyb]

Breakthrough Infection Study Compares Decline in COVID Vaccine Effectiveness: Pfizer vs Moderna vs J&J:

Study in Science of more than 780,000 Veterans is the first to compare waning protection rates across all three vaccine types available to most Americans and to directly report death rates after breakthrough infection.

A new study in the leading journal Science reviewed COVID-19 breakthrough infections among 780,225 Veterans, finding that vaccine protection declined from 87.9% to 48.1% during the 2021 Delta surge in the U.S. The researchers from PHI, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center found a dramatic decline in effectiveness for the Janssen (Johnson and Johnson) vaccine, from 86.4% in March to 13%.1 in September. They also found that vaccination of any type was protective against death among infected individuals.

As COVID-19 breakthrough infections continue to emerge in some vaccine recipients and health authorities are developing policies around booster vaccinations, national data on COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough infections is inadequate but urgently needed. Now a study from the Public Health Institute, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center published today in the journal Science analyzed COVID infection by vaccination status among 780,225 Veterans.

Researchers found that protection against any COVID-19 infection declined for all vaccine types, with overall vaccine protection declining from 87.9% in February to 48.1% by October 2021.

  • The decline was greatest for the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine, with protection against infection declining from 86.4% in March to 13%.1 in September
  • Declines for PfizerBioNTech were from 86.9% to 43.3%
  • Declines for Moderna were 89.2% to 58%.

While most previous studies have focused on the PfizerBioNTech or Moderna vaccines, the Science study is the first to compare protection declines across the three main vaccine types, and the first to show the comparably dramatic decline in effectiveness for the Janssen vaccine. Declines were assessed over the period February 1, 2021 to October 1, 2021, reflecting the emergence and dominance of the Delta variant in the U.S. Patterns of breakthrough infection over time were consistent by age, despite rolling vaccine eligibility, implicating the Delta variant as the primary determinant of infection.

Importantly, vaccination of any type was protective against death among individuals who did become infected. The relative benefit of vaccination for protection against death was greater for persons under 65 but was also very strong for persons over 65.

Study compares decline in effectiveness for Moderna, Pfizer, Janssen vaccines; and mortality consequences:

For those under 65 years old, vaccines overall were 81.7% effective against death.

  • Protection against death was greatest for the Pfizer vaccine, at 84.3%.
  • Moderna was the next most effective, at 81.5%.
  • Janssen was 73% effective.

For those 65 and over, overall vaccine effectiveness against death was 71.6%.

  • Moderna was 75.5% effective.
  • Pfizer was 70.1% effective.
  • Janssen was 52.2% effective.

"Our study gives researchers, policy makers and others a strong basis for comparing the long-term effectiveness of COVID vaccines, and a lens for making informed decisions around primary vaccination, booster shots, and other multiple layers of protection, including masking mandates, social distancing, testing and other public health interventions to reduce chance of spread," said Dr. Barbara Cohn of PHI, the lead author of the study. "For example, the CDC recommendation for boosters for all Janssen recipients over 18 is supported by our results. And, given the declines in vaccine protection and the dominance of the more infective Delta variant, we urge swift action to promote primary vaccination, boosters and to also encourage masking, social distancing and other layers of protection against infection. This is supported by our finding that breakthrough infections are not benign, but also by the strong evidence that vaccination still protects against death even for persons with breakthrough infections, compared to persons who become infected and are not vaccinated."

The FDA authorized Pfizer boosters for some groups in September and Moderna and Janssen boosters in October, and the CDC has made similar recommendations, including supporting a "mix and match" approach that allows people to choose any of the three vaccine boosters regardless of which they were given initially.

Journal Reference:
Barbara A. Cohn, Piera M. Cirillo, Caitlin C. Murphy, et al. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine protection and deaths among US veterans during 2021, Science [open] (DOI: 10.1126/science.abm0620)


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  • (Score: 2) by legont on Thursday December 02 2021, @07:14AM (3 children)

    by legont (4179) on Thursday December 02 2021, @07:14AM (#1201407)

    Look, I took vaccine while it was still barely available. I actually drove for 4 hours through a snowstorm to get it. Meantime I don't go to the office and spend my free time hiking woods and skiing. When go skiing I don't socialize but go directly to lifts. I do a few similar things but all of them a similarly antisocial.
    If I hopefully don't get covid, do you credit it to the vaccine?

    This whole thing is very similar to AIDS where one's life style was the biggest risk factor. BTW, they could not get an effective vaccine for it either.

    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday December 02 2021, @02:46PM (2 children)

    by Freeman (732) on Thursday December 02 2021, @02:46PM (#1201500) Journal

    AIDS isn't a particularly good comparison, because of the mode of transmission. AIDS is pretty much, blood transmission. So, don't do the whole blood brother, hand cutting thing and you're fine.

    The anti-social behavior certainly helps you not get random x sickness, which includes COVID-19. Considering COVID-19 is turning out to be a lot more like the flu, in terms of time to get your next booster (every 6 or 12 months). "Anti-Social" behavior may be your best defense against any future strain of COVID-19. The term "anti-social" has strong negative connotations. Maybe soon, they'll just call it pro-active isolation or something?

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 2) by legont on Thursday December 02 2021, @06:54PM (1 child)

      by legont (4179) on Thursday December 02 2021, @06:54PM (#1201586)

      Well, AIDS forced me to use condoms, which ruined my sex life; all in the name of sexual minority I don't care about. However, it taught me an important skill to be happy with myself, which I successfully use to fight covid.

      --
      "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
      • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday December 02 2021, @07:25PM

        by Freeman (732) on Thursday December 02 2021, @07:25PM (#1201602) Journal

        Having sex with one partner, that you know isn't getting any on the side, fixes that. Unless you already have AIDS.

        --
        Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"