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Why is the "VE-D" number nowhere near the original 95% efficacy number widely reported for the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines when they were originally approved? Is i
by throwaway4good 5y ago
Why is the "VE-D" number nowhere near the original 95% efficacy number widely reported for the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines when they were originally approved?
Is it different methodology or is it changed nature of the pandemic?
- rsynnott 5y agoThe major variant around during the original trials was the ancestral one (Alpha may just about have been showing up). In a way we may have been lucky here; there’s some reason to think that Beta is less susceptible to the vaccines than Delta, but Delta outcompeted it.
- nonameking2026 5y agoThis provides a good reason. Link to the bmj peer reviewed article in the show notes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THv33zWykJc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THv33zWykJc
- News-Dog 5y agoAlso see : https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29346565 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29346565 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29208007 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29208007 (New target for Covid-19 vaccines identified: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/nov/new-target-covid-19-vaccines-identified https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/nov/new-target-covid-19-vacc...)
- martingoodson 5y agoDelta
- colechristensen 5y agoEfficacy depends on strain. Lower for some variants. Vaccines will need to be updated regularly as the virus evolves.
- drran 5y agoEfficacy != efficiency. Efficacy is just estimation after some tests. It must be at least 50% for vaccine to be accepted. 95% is bigger than 50%.