Pfizer and BioNTech's favorite Covid-19 vaccine has fewer side effects compared to their first The surprise? The vaccine which would be analyzed in a 30,000-patient trial was not the one where the companies had presented data on July 1.
The reason, the firms said, was that another vaccine appeared to generate a similar immune response, but fewer side effects. On Thursday, they published the results from all 332 individuals who received either vaccine, referred to as vaccines B1 or B2 -- and really, B2 recipients experienced markedly fewer adverse events connected into the vaccine.
"Obviouslythe better tolerated the vaccine, the more I think that it will promote public acceptance of a wide immunization," said William Gruber, the senior vice president of vaccine clinical research and development at Pfizer. "Both could have been great candidates. We were lucky that B2 really satisfied having both a positive immune profile and fewer reactions."
The study analyzed doses of each vaccine ranging from 10 micrograms to 100 micrograms. The 30-microgram dose of B2 has been taken forward in clinical trials.
Together with the first vaccine, known as BNT162b1, or B1 for brief, patients between the ages of 18 and 55 had adverse events thought to be related to the vaccine 50% of the time at the 30-microgram dose. Those between the ages of 65 and 85 had associated adverse events 16.7% of their time.
For the second vaccine, BNT162b2, or B2, patients between 18 and 55 had adverse events thought to be related to the vaccine 16.7percent of the time, without any negative effects thought to be about the vaccine were reported in those between the ages of 65 and 85.
Both genders utilize mRNA -- the genetic messenger the body uses to make the DNA code into proteins -- packaged within a fatty capsule, called a lipid nanoparticle, that allows it to enter cells. The mRNA instructs cells to produce a protein, which causes the immune system into action. For the B1 vaccine, the mRNA coded to the component of a protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that binds to a receptor on human cells so as to obtain entrance to them. The B2 vaccine creates the entirety of the protein, also called the spike protein.
Working with the full spike protein may allow the immune system to figure out more ways to detect and attack the virus. Chemical modifications to the mRNA can also explain some of this gap. Although precisely the same dose, by weight, was given to patients using each vaccine, the B2 vaccine could comprise fewer particles, because the full size mRNA is thicker.
The side effects tracked were mostly those one would expect from a vaccine injection, including soreness at the injection site, fever, chills, headache, and muscle or joint pain. No elderly adult who received B2 reported swelling or discoloration at the injection website.
The average degree of antibodies to the virus in elderly adults was only 41 percent that seen in younger participants. But, it was higher than the level of antibodies seen in recovered patients, the authors said.
All patients in the analysis of B2 were white and non-Hispanic, with much more elderly women than elderly men engaging.
Pfizer has said that some data out of the large study of the B2 vaccine might come as early as October and whether the vaccine is effective, the companies could look for approval as ancient as that month.
The reason, the firms said, was that another vaccine appeared to generate a similar immune response, but fewer side effects. On Thursday, they published the results from all 332 individuals who received either vaccine, referred to as vaccines B1 or B2 -- and really, B2 recipients experienced markedly fewer adverse events connected into the vaccine.
"Obviouslythe better tolerated the vaccine, the more I think that it will promote public acceptance of a wide immunization," said William Gruber, the senior vice president of vaccine clinical research and development at Pfizer. "Both could have been great candidates. We were lucky that B2 really satisfied having both a positive immune profile and fewer reactions."
The study analyzed doses of each vaccine ranging from 10 micrograms to 100 micrograms. The 30-microgram dose of B2 has been taken forward in clinical trials.
Together with the first vaccine, known as BNT162b1, or B1 for brief, patients between the ages of 18 and 55 had adverse events thought to be related to the vaccine 50% of the time at the 30-microgram dose. Those between the ages of 65 and 85 had associated adverse events 16.7% of their time.
For the second vaccine, BNT162b2, or B2, patients between 18 and 55 had adverse events thought to be related to the vaccine 16.7percent of the time, without any negative effects thought to be about the vaccine were reported in those between the ages of 65 and 85.
Both genders utilize mRNA -- the genetic messenger the body uses to make the DNA code into proteins -- packaged within a fatty capsule, called a lipid nanoparticle, that allows it to enter cells. The mRNA instructs cells to produce a protein, which causes the immune system into action. For the B1 vaccine, the mRNA coded to the component of a protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that binds to a receptor on human cells so as to obtain entrance to them. The B2 vaccine creates the entirety of the protein, also called the spike protein.
Working with the full spike protein may allow the immune system to figure out more ways to detect and attack the virus. Chemical modifications to the mRNA can also explain some of this gap. Although precisely the same dose, by weight, was given to patients using each vaccine, the B2 vaccine could comprise fewer particles, because the full size mRNA is thicker.
The side effects tracked were mostly those one would expect from a vaccine injection, including soreness at the injection site, fever, chills, headache, and muscle or joint pain. No elderly adult who received B2 reported swelling or discoloration at the injection website.
The average degree of antibodies to the virus in elderly adults was only 41 percent that seen in younger participants. But, it was higher than the level of antibodies seen in recovered patients, the authors said.
All patients in the analysis of B2 were white and non-Hispanic, with much more elderly women than elderly men engaging.
Pfizer has said that some data out of the large study of the B2 vaccine might come as early as October and whether the vaccine is effective, the companies could look for approval as ancient as that month.