Moderna produces more antibodies in the blood after getting the second dose than Pfizer: Study

Moderna vaccine produces more antibodies in the blood after getting the second dose than Pfizer, reveals study (Reuters Photo)

Covid-19 vaccination: The recent study shows that antibody levels in recipients of the Moderna vaccine were comparatively higher than in those recipients of the Pfizer vaccine. The findings were published recently in JAMA Network Open and the study was done by researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine on antibody response generated by the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The scientists have also noted that one must not consider antibody numbers as a basis of vaccines’ effectiveness, as quoted in the press release issued by the University of Virginia. Although both vaccines have shown phenomenal performance, the new findings are significant as these will help determine whether one vaccine is superior to the other in certain areas.

In the study, blood samples were received from 167 University employees who were vaccinated against covid 19. Out of them, 79 have received Pfizer while 88 have received the Moderna vaccine. The researchers, overall, found that Moderna produced more antibodies in the blood after getting the second dose than Pfizer. While Moderna produced some68.5 micrograms of antibodies per milliliter of blood, Pfizer produced only 45.9 micrograms of antibodies per milliliter of blood.

A similar study comparing the immune response of the two vaccines–Moderna and Pfizer showed that two doses of Moderna vaccine produces more antibodies than those who are vaccinated fully with Pfizer vaccine. Both the vaccines use the mRNA technology and are being used widely in several countries. The findings were published in a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association on August 30.

The study showed that the ones who were infected with the virus when inoculated with the Moderna vaccine produced an antibody response of 2,881 units/ml and just 108 units/m antibody response when given Pfizer. Even among those who were previously infected with COVID, when given Moderna shot showed higher presence of antibody compared to those who received the Pfizer vaccine.