Is the novel coronavirus vaccine working in real life? It appears so, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
COVID-19 vaccine in the real world
The CDC released new data that looked at how well the coronavirus vaccine is performing in the real world, according to CNN. Here’s a breakdown of what the CDC found when reviewing data of nearly 77 million people who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
- About 5,800 vaccinated people became infected with COVID-19.
- The report said 396 (or about 7%) fully vaccinated people required hospitalization.
- “Some” people became seriously ill from COVID-19 infection, according to CNN.
- The CDC said 74 people died from the infection. Based on the 77 million vaccinated number, that means 0.00000096% of people died.
- Based on the data, the CDC puts the chances of post-vaccination infection at 1 in 11,000.
Real-world vs. trial data
For the most part, these numbers match what the clinical trials showed. Pfizer said its trial data showed the vaccine to be 95% effective against the novel coronavirus, and Moderna said its vaccine was 94% effective in stopping the virus. More recently, Pfizer said real-world data showed its vaccine was closer to 91% effective and Moderna said its two-dose vaccine was 90% effective.
Johnson & Johnson — whose vaccine has has been put on pause due to reports of blood clots — said its vaccine was 72% effective in stopping COVID-19 in the U.S. It’s unclear what the real-world data shows about that vaccine.
Vaccine breakthroughs expected
Experts recently said people getting COVID-19 after full vaccination — which is described as a “vaccine breakthrough” — is fully expected, according to NPR. The vaccines don’t promise 100% effectiveness. So it’s possible someone would be infected after the vaccine, though they may not become as ill.
- “So the bottom line is: It’s expected. No need to freak out,” Dr. Saad Omer, a vaccine researcher at Yale University, told NPR.