The most effective, according to official data, are those of Pfizer Biontech and Moderna, the first two to have been approved internationally. The least effective to date is instead that of AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical group of which Italy is administering the largest number of doses at this stage, in particular for teachers and the military. Let's talk about Covid vaccines and let's try to take stock of the situation, while in mid-March the EMA (the European Medicines Authority) will also give the green light to a fourth vaccine in Europe, that of Johnson & Johnson, already approved by the FDA, the authority American
PFIZER BIOTECH
The US company has burned everyone on time and has been on the market since December 2020. Its effectiveness is 95% and it has been approved both in the US and in Europe: there are two doses to be administered, three weeks apart. It is stored at -70 degrees and has not shown any contraindications, for example for the older population groups, as happened with other vaccines. Indeed in Italy it was administered to over 80 year olds, as well as to health personnel.
Modern
Another US company, another very high efficacy (95%), using the same technology as Pfizer, namely that of messenger RNA. Few doses have arrived in Italy and Europe, because the company produces only in the United States and it is precisely there that it is distributing almost all the vaccines. Conservation is easier than Pfizer (-20 degrees) and also in this case two doses should be administered, about a month apart.
ASTRAZENECA
While waiting for Johnson & Johnson and the all-Italian vaccine that will be ready in the autumn, that of the Anglo-Swedish company is the serum of the moment in Italy, at this stage. Approved both in the US and in Europe, it has a not very high efficacy, 62%, and was initially also discouraged for the most vulnerable groups, especially the elderly. Here, too, two doses are needed, spaced 12 weeks apart, following just the perfect timing. When the second dose is administered, the effectiveness increases up to 80%, but in England for now only one dose is distributed, to allow for the quick coverage of as many people as possible, at least initially. We are considering doing the same in Italy.
JANSSEN
It is the vaccine of the pharmaceutical company headed by Johnson & Johnson, which has already received the green light from the American FDA and will also arrive in Europe by the end of March. Effectiveness between 72% and 86%, it has the advantage of being able to be kept at 2-8 degrees (therefore in any common refrigerator) and above all of being single-dose: a booster is not needed to be immunised.
CUREVAC
Another German vaccine, made by Bayer with the same methodology as Moderna and Pfizer. There is no official information on its effectiveness yet, but it should arrive on the market not before late spring. Two doses will be needed.
NOVAVAX extension
This is also a two-dose vaccine, but the process is still behind so there isn't much information. Only now has phase three of the trial begun, which is taking place between the USA (where the group, listed on the Nasdaq, is based) and Mexico. The preparation is protein based found on the surface of the virus.
SPUTNIK
It is the Russian vaccine, chosen in Italy by San Marino, which is already distributing it. The two doses, 21 days between the first and the booster, are carried by two different adenoviruses carrying the Spike protein. Efficacy 91,6%, it is produced with frozen (-18 degrees) and freeze-dried (2-8 degrees) formulation. Approved for now only by the Russian regulatory authorities, preliminary contacts with Ema.
