Dr. Stephanie Silvera Remarks on Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccines
Posted in: College News and Events, Public Health
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy says the supply of COVID-19 vaccines will “explode” around Easter.
New Jersey, along with New York, was an early epicenter for the virus, which so far has resulted in 21,052 deaths, and still, New Jersey has among the highest number of deaths per 100,000 residents in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Despite the grim toll, the governor sounded an optimistic tone about the addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which joins Pfizer and Moderna.
It was no coincidence to hear those reassuring statements about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – which yielded an estimated 66% efficacy rate globally; 72% in the US.
That’s a far cry from efficacy rates in the mid-90s for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
But Dr. Stephanie Silvera, Public Health Professor, says Johnson & Johnson’s stats require context.
“It’s the one vaccine that’s going to be on the market that has actually been tested among these newer variants [of COVID]. When Pfizer and Moderna were tested, those variants weren’t in the mix and so we actually have data on Moderna and Pfizer specifically for these newer variants,” said Dr. Silvera.