The first two COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States are proving to be just as effective in real-world applications as they were in clinical trials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.
A CDC study of nearly 4,000 health care employees, first responders and other essential workers found that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 90% effective at preventing infection two weeks after receiving both doses. Even two weeks after the first dose, 80% of recipients were protected.
In addition to corroborating the efficacy observed in clinical trials, the findings dampen concerns that vaccinated people might still be able to carry and transmit the virus, posing a risk to unvaccinated people. That’s highly unlikely, the CDC can now comfortably say. Among 2,479 fully vaccinated people in the study, only three had confirmed infections, compared with 161 infections among 994 unvaccinated people.
“This study is tremendously encouraging,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a White House coronavirus task force briefing Monday, noting that 93 million Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
President Joe Biden also announced Monday that 90% of people in the U.S. will be eligible for vaccination by April 19, and that the number of pharmacies providing the shots will more than double.
The study did not explore the real-world efficacy of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, which was approved for use in the U.S. after the Pfizer and Moderna ones.
But this doesn’t mean the U.S. is out of the woods, Walensky somberly warned, saying she has a feeling of “impending doom” about the pandemic getting worse before it gets better.
On Sunday, the U.S. surpassed 30 million COVID-19 cases. The current seven-day average of new cases is around 60,000 per day, a 10% increase from the previous seven-day period. Hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise, too.
“When I first started at CDC about two months ago, I made a promise to you: I would tell you the truth, even if it was not the news you wanted to hear,” Walensky said. “Now is one of those times when I have to share the truth, and I have to hope and trust you will listen.”
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