The pandemic is not over as the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to swirl around the country, infecting unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people.
But one question has risen in recent days: Does one vaccine provide better protection than others?
Which COVID-19 vaccine is better for the delta variant?
We don’t know.
Per Healthline, there’s a lot of uncertain data about how the vaccines work against the delta variant since several of them were not tested against it in trials. There is more analysis and data on the Pfizer vaccine so far.
However, the three main vaccines in the U.S. — from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — have “proven to be effective in varying degrees against the original variant of the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, that causes COVID-19,” according to Healthline.
What we know about Pfizer
- An analysis from Public Health England found the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic cases of delta and 96% effective against hospitalizations from delta.
- A study in the journal Nature said a single shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca vaccines didn’t provide really any protection. However, the study said people with two doses had 95% effectiveness against the delta variant.
- Meanwhile, a study in Israel — the highest vaccinated country in the world — found that the Pfizer vaccine did not offer high protection against delta.
What we know about Moderna
One lab study of the Moderna vaccine suggested the vaccine could protect against the delta variant but wasn’t as protective as it was against the alpha variant. That said, the same study found the vaccine could protect better against the delta compared to the beta version of the virus (which was originally discovered in the United Kingdom).
A study from Canada found that the Moderna vaccine was 72% effective against the delta variant after one dose. However, there was not enough data to figure out the effectiveness after two doses. This study was not peer-reviewed.
What about Johnson & Johnson?
A new study released Tuesday suggested that the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine might not be very effective against the delta and lambda variants. The study was not peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. But the experts involved in the study do not work for any of the vaccine developers.
The study said people who got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine might need a booster shot to their vaccine in the future, according to The New York Times.