Get your shot. By any means necessary
As COVID-19 vaccines become more available throughout the land, it is incumbent on each one of us to obtain one – by any means necessary. I previously shared why I am not throwin’ away my… shot, and true to my word, I recently got vaccinated. I am convinced that if I had waited for my shot to come to me, I would still be holding my breath for a vaccine.
So how did it come about? Instead of waiting until it was blatantly obvious that my turn had come, I exchanged tips amongst my friends and colleagues about where vaccines may be available in my state. I registered on several sites (that had varying vaccine priority criteria) with the intent to take the first appointment I could secure. Access to a vaccine varies by state, so you may want to reference one or two of many sources such as The Wall Street Journal’s How to get a COVID-19 vaccine: a state-by-state guide.
Smooth operation
For myself and most people I talked to that have gotten vaccinated, the process is smooth, lasting an hour on average (similar to voting, that other life-saving operation last November). We arrived 10 minutes before our scheduled appointment and were ushered by friendly National Guard troops to theme park like lines. There were markers on the ground six feet apart. Everyone wore PPE and were very polite to each other as if we were all together doing our civic duty.
The technology side of things – which is typically where things fall apart – also functioned as a well-oiled machine. From signing up, selecting a date and time slot, to downloading the app to keep track of your scheduling, to confirming your identification with a few taps on a tablet, to scheduling our second dose via a mobile ‘concierge’ that rolled over to us while at the end of the 15-minute (30 minutes for those of us who have had an allergic reaction in the past) mandatory waiting period in the observation area. Everything went off without a hitch. On our way out we proceeded to the ‘Selfie Section’ where everybody was taking pictures like we were at a high school prom.
Which is the best COVID-19 vaccine to get?
Being, shall we say a “hefty”, black man, over fifty, with a few underlying conditions, puts me at increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death. It was a no-brainer which vaccine I preferred – the first one I could get! I have participated in numerous debates about which vaccine among the three to take if you were lucky enough to have a choice. Below is the too long; didn’t read (tl;dr) on how experts have assessed how well each vaccine works, based on evidence from clinical trials involving 30,000+ participants.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine
Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine:
- 100% effective against death
- 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization
- 95% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 after the 2nd dose
- 88.9% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 after the 1st dose
- Requires two doses administered 21 days apart
- Can be given to people 16+ years old
- Must be stored at between -112 and -76 degrees Fahrenheit (really cold)
- Mostly mild side effects (fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, fever)
- Severe adverse reactions in less than 5% of participants
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Moderna vaccine:
- 100% effective against death
- 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization
- 94.5% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 after the 2nd dose
- Was 80.2% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 after the 1st dose
- Requires two doses administered 28 days apart
- Can be given to people 18+ years old
- Must be stored at between -13 and -5 degrees Fahrenheit (refrigerator freezer)
- Mostly mild side effects (fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain)
- Severe adverse reactions in less than 3% of participants
Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine
Based on preliminary data from clinical trials, the J&J/Janssen vaccine:
- 100% effective against death death
- 100% effective against hospitalization
- 72% effective against symptomatic COVID-19; 85% effective against severe disease
- Effective against variants (which were studied in clinical trails)
- Requires only one dose
- Can be given to people 18+ years old
- Can be stored at room temperature
- Mild side effects (fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain)
What if I have the option to choose?
As you can see from the comparison above, you can’t go wrong with any of them. They all offer 100% protection against hospitalization and death and 85%+ protection against severe illness- reason enough to take what you can get.
But I hear you insisting that I make a recommendation, so here is how I see it.
Your state may take that choice out of your hands (or should I say arm?) based on ease of storage and distribution. For example, if you live in a rural community where there is a limited number of drug stores and medical facilities, chances are they will direct Johnson & Johnson there because it can be stored at room temperature. On the other hand, large cities have facilities that can handle the deep freeze storage Pfizer requires. Moderna’s storage requirements put it somewhere in the middle.
If you are younger, say under 40 years old, Johnson & Johnson may be your best bet because it is “one and done”, and reports are that some younger people are not showing up for the second dose. That has led some epidemiologists to suggest Johnson & Johnson may be good for mass vaccination on college campuses. If you are between the ages of 16 and 18, then Pfizer is your only option.
The bottom line: you can’t go wrong with any of these vaccines IMHO. What’s your take? I’d love to hear your comments.
