A study comparing individual immune responses to two major COVID-19 vaccines has shown that Moderna has created more than twice as many antibodies as Pfizer and BioNTech.
The study, which involved 2,499 Belgian health workers who were vaccinated with two doses of any company vaccine, was published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The research showed that previously infected participants had higher levels of antibodies than those who had not been infected, but Moderna’s MRNA,
the vaccine came out ahead for both groups. For those without previous infections, antibody levels were 2881 units per milliliter among Moderna candidates and 1108 for those with Pfizer PFE,
-BioNTech BNTX,
vaccine.
The study suggested a couple of reasons for antibody level differences between vaccines, including a longer interval between shots for the Moderna vaccine (4 weeks) compared to the 3 weeks of Pfizer. The researchers also said that Moderna’s shot had a higher concentration of the key active ingredient used in both vaccines.
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Antibody levels were also negatively correlated with the age of participants who had not been previously infected, with the highest levels among those under 35, according to the study.
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