Which Covid-19 vaccine is best for you? Pfizer? AstraZeneca? Moderna? (2021)

Hi guys, welcome back to the Snapchat channel. My name is Mia and I'm your host today. Today we are going to talk about Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, which one is best for you. If you like our channel and our videos, remember to hit that like button and also subscribe if you'd like to see more. With New South Wales still in lockdown and no signs of a decrease in daily infection numbers, vaccination seems to be the only hope of lifting restrictions and returning life to the COVID normal. So at least we would have some freedom to leave our homes like people in the US and the UK. Since there have been some blood clotting risks with AstraZeneca, many people have been queuing up for the Pfizer vaccine with states complaining that there aren't enough to go around. On the 9th of August, the Morrison government announced we have secured another 25 million doses for the Moderna vaccine with 10 of them expected to arrive before Christmas. Our medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has also announced it has given provisional approval for the Moderna vaccine for Australians age 18 and over. So which vaccine is best for you? Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna? Some of us have more choices now and depending on your age group. Now let's have a look at the age groups. In Australia, if you are between the ages of 16 to 39 and you are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or a frontline worker or high risk or disability worker, you can get the Pfizer shot. However, many of those who are below 40 and do not fit into these categories like myself, have still been able to book a Pfizer shot in New South Wales through an online booking system. So if you have a look at different vaccination centres online and try your luck. Adults of any age above 18 can take the AstraZeneca shot. However, this is recommended for those above 60. For people who are below 60 and who want the AstraZeneca, you need to find a GP who is willing to give the shot. At the moment, many GPs are still a bit reluctant to give the AstraZeneca shot without the government's no-fault indemnity scheme, which still hasn't passed parliament. Now if you are the ages between 40 and 59, you can go for the Pfizer or the AstraZeneca with a big disclaimer on the AstraZeneca one. Now as for children aged between 12 to 15, they will be able to get the Pfizer vaccine if they have specific medical conditions or who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or live in a remote community. So the eligibility of Moderna is yet to be announced. This vaccine has already been approved for those above 18 years and older. Let's look at the various reports on effectiveness and possible side effects of each. Infectious diseases expert Dr. Peter Collin said that the US-made Moderna is very similar to Pfizer vaccine. He told news.com.au that the only major difference between the two vaccines is that Moderna can be kept at minus 20 degrees rather than minus 70 like the Pfizer. It appears to have the same efficiency as similar side effects. In general, based on clinical trials, the US Center of Disease Control and Prevention found that in clinical trials in people aged 18 years and older, the Moderna vaccine was about 94.1% effective at preventing COVID in people who have received two doses. This is compared to 95% for Pfizer and 82% in AstraZeneca. For the different variants, we don't have enough infections and vaccination rates in Australia to give a good indication. But according to the New England Journal of Medicine, after two doses of the vaccine, Pfizer is about 88% effective against the Delta variant compared to 93% for Alpha variant. And for the AstraZeneca, it's 67% effective against Delta and 74.5% against Alpha. Moderna is about 76% effective against Delta and 92% against Alpha. However, last month the Israel Health Ministry revised the effectiveness of Pfizer down to just 64% against Delta and warned that it could even be lower because about 90% of the new confirmed cases in those aged 50 years and over are fully vaccinated. However, one good thing to note is that death rates still remain quite low for those who have been fully vaccinated. So just to be aware though, in most studies, it has been proven that a single dose of any vaccine was found to provide hardly any protection. You need two doses for significantly more protection against the Delta variant. And recently, new data from the Israeli Ministry of Health showed that the vaccine's effectiveness declines after six months so that the company, Pfizer and BioNTech said that they're now in the process of developing a third dose for the COVID-19 vaccine that will act as a booster against the Delta variant. According to the trial's results, the third dose produced five times more antibodies against the Delta variant in people 18 to 55 years old and 11 times more antibodies in people 65 to 85 years old. The study is awaiting peer review and similar to the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, Moderna is also testing whether a third dose is beneficial. Okay, now to the possible side effects. The side effects of Moderna vaccine are similar to that of the Pfizer vaccine. These include pain in the arm where the shots delivered and things like tiredness, muscle pains, fever, chills. There are also extremely rare reports of myocarditis, which is where there's a minor swelling of the heart. The European Medicines Agency said the side effects were more common in younger men and shortly after the second dose of vaccine. These include chest pains, a feeling of breathlessness and pounding or fluttering heartbeat. With AstraZeneca, there is additional risk of rare side effects on blood clots and low levels of blood pellets. In Australia, these symptoms have occurred between four to 42 days post vaccination. The blood clots can occur in different parts of the body such as the brain or the abdomen. The rate of the blood clots is estimated to be higher in those under 60 years of age, especially in younger adults and it may be more common in women. However, cases have also been reported in men and older people. Now for days apart between the doses, Moderna is 28 days, Pfizer is 21 days, AstraZeneca is 28 to 84 days. So that's all folks. I hope you found that informative and just to recap, if you are under 40 in addition to Pfizer, you now have additional choice of Moderna. If you are over the age of 40, you can go for AstraZeneca, which Australia has plenty of. So thanks for watching. If you have any questions, comment below and remember to subscribe and hit that like button and turn on the bell so you get notified when we upload a new video. Thank you so much and I'll see you next time. Bye.