Data were stratified for sex, age group, race, and ethnicity, serious versus nonserious side effect reports, and vaccine manufacturer. The study included 298792852 vaccine doses, administered to persons 16 years and older from December 14, 2020-June 14, 2021. The investigators conducted descriptive analyses of the available VAERS and v-safe data after the first and second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. The study examined US surveillance data collected by the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and by v-safe, a new active system. The study monitored the more than 298 million mRNA COVID-19 vaccine doses that were administered in the first 6 months of rollout, and found that most side effects were mild and resolved within 1-2 days. This week, data from a large observational study was published in The Lancet. One year later, in December 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended both mRNA vaccines over the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) single-dose vaccine, citing concerns over rare blood clotting and a lower efficacy.Īs the US strives to reach a 70% vaccination rate for herd immunity, some people are still skeptical about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. In December 2020, the mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) and Moderna (mRNA-1273) COVID-19 vaccines were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

Moderna side effect profile