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Amber Retzsch

Professor Hellmers

ENG 1201- B52

25 November 2021

What are the similarities and differences in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines

and are there any benefits to being fully vaccinated?

There are many people around the world facing COVID-19 vaccine mandates from

their employers. Have you recently faced a mandate that requires you to get the COVID-19

vaccine or are you considering getting the vaccine but unsure which one to get? The Moderna

and Pfizer vaccines are made by two different manufactures but use the same technology to

help prevent disease. There are many similarities and differences between the Pfizer and

Moderna COVID-19 vaccines including administration, effectiveness, and the age group that

can receive the vaccine. There are misconceptions regarding the vaccine but being fully

vaccinated has been proven to prevent serious illness from COVID-19.

We are now starting to climb out of the Global Pandemic of COVID-19, before

COVID-19 we had the flu and many other illnesses including different coronaviruses but

nothing quite like COVID-19 in many of our lifetimes. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus

that causes the disease of COVID-19. COVID-19 can present mild symptoms and in some

cases a person can become severely ill even resulting in their death. Some of the mild

symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, headache, sore throat, and loss of

taste. The more serious symptoms are trouble breathing, persistent pain in chest, confusion,

inability to stay awake, and pale or blue lips. These symptoms are more concerning, and one
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should get medical attention immediately. There are currently 747,970 deaths reported due to

COVID-19 in the United States since March of 2020. (CDC,1) The vaccine has only recently

been developed and quickly which has made some people nervous to get a COVID-19 vaccine

because they do not trust the fast development of the new technology. The two vaccines to

focus on are Moderna and Pfizer which are mRNA vaccines.

What is a mRNA vaccine? The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are both mRNA vaccines.

mRNA vaccines are not like many previously developed vaccines. The mRNA vaccine does

not contain any form of the weekend or inactivated version of the virus. Therefore, you cannot

get infected with COVID-19 by getting the vaccine. It is made of the same mRNA that our

bodies produce. The vaccine is injected which then causes our immune systems to notice a

foreign substance that it starts to fight off by building antibodies. Your body then disposes of

the RNA like it disposes all other RNA in the body. That means the vaccine contents are no

longer in your body after just a few hours. Your body is training itself to fight off the disease

by holding this reaction in memory should you encounter the live virus in the future. "While

our bodies use DNA to make mRNA, there's no way to reverse this process. Once the message

is delivered, the mRNA is cleared the same way your body clears all the other RNA in your

body," (Papmehl,1) This comes off as a new technology to most but according to the CDC

mRNA technology has been being developed for the past decade.

The Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are not identical, but they do offer the

same method to fight the disease and both require two doses. The Pfizer and Moderna

vaccines use the same technology, mRNA. The Moderna vaccine has proven to be more

effective than the Pfizer vaccine. The Moderna vaccine is 94 percent effective at preventing

the COVID-19 virus with symptoms and the Pfizer vaccine is about 91 percent effective at
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preventing the COVID-19 virus with symptoms. (Mayo Clinic,1) The vaccines are similar in

that they both require 2 doses of the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine requires a first initial dose

then another does after 21 days of receiving the first does. The Moderna vaccine is different in

that it requires the second does of the vaccine 28 days after receiving the first does. The

difference that may be a main factor in many decisions in what vaccine to get is that only the

Pfizer vaccine is FDA approved.

The two vaccines have similar ways and different ways in which they are given to

patients. The Pfizer vaccine is given in two shots, the second vaccine must be given twenty-

one days after the first vaccination has been completed. The Moderna vaccine is also two

rounds with the second vaccine being given twenty-eight days after the first shot. The

vaccines both do not consider someone to be fully vaccinated until two weeks after the last

vaccine was given. You can receive either vaccine from your local CVS, your primary care

physician, Walgreens, and even your local Target. Locations vary on which vaccine will be

available either Moderna or Pfizer. There is a 15 to 30 minute monitored time after receiving

the vaccine that you must hang around to verify you do not have any immediate allergic

reactions for Moderna and Pfizer. (GoodRx,1)

Side effects are a possibility for any drug or vaccine, but most are mild and don’t have

any effect on your everyday life. In rare cases there can sometimes be strong side effects.

Some of the mild side effects that are possible are possible redness, swelling, or pain around

the place you received the vaccination, some other mild side effects are tiredness, headache,

muscle pains, chills, nausea, and or fever.(CDC,1) Serious side effects to the vaccine are rare

but again they are possible per the CDC website. Some of the serious rare side effects are

myocarditis, pericarditis, and anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that can happen

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after any vaccine, Anaphylaxis is rare and has only occurred in 2 to 5 people per every million

vaccinated according to the CDC. Anaphylaxis is treatable and reversable. Myocarditis and

pericarditis are also serious rare side effects. 442 billon COVID-19 vaccines have been given

and there are only 1793 confirmed cases of myocarditis and pericarditis from receiving the

vaccine in people aged from 12 to 29 years old. “Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart

muscle, and pericarditis is inflammation of the outer lining of the heart.” (CDC,1) Many

worries about receiving the vaccine are due to the vaccines not receiving full FDA approval.

Although, recently the Pfizer vaccine has recently received FDA approval on August

23, 2021.The vaccines are different in that the Moderna vaccine is only available to

individuals 18 and older ant the Pfizer vaccine is available to individuals ages 5 and older.

One major difference is that the Pfizer vaccine has received FDA approval and the Moderna

vaccine has not. The Moderna vaccine has only been approved for emergency use at this time.

(CDC,1) Just recently the Pfizer vaccine received the FDA’s approval and children have just

started to receive COVID-19 vaccines. Considering the serious side effects that are possible

do the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the possible serious side effects?

There is a lot of proof and studies that find the COVID-19 vaccine to be the best

option considering the rarity of the serious side effects and the mildness of the not so serious

side effects. The vaccine has proven benefits for yourself and for the people around you. A

few benefits of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine are that it reduces the risk of spreading

COVID-19 and it mutating beyond the vaccines reach and you will have a significantly

smaller chance of getting seriously Ill should you contract COVID-19. Also, according to the

CDC website, the benefits of being fully vaccinated outweigh the risks from receiving the

vaccine. Potential risks of getting the vaccine include allergic reactions, myocarditis, or
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pericarditis, but are rare. (CDC, 1) After reviewing the benefits of being vaccinated why are

many Americans choosing to still not get vaccinated?

There are many misconceptions regarding the reasons people are not wanting to

receive the vaccine, many political. Many believe that the vaccine will change their DNA

makeup, or the government is going to put a chip in them, and even that one may become

magnetic after receiving the vaccine. These are real concerns that many people have, they

come from either having certain beliefs or being uneducated about the vaccine. The presence

of social media has allowed fake news to spread throughout the world. People are not

educated about the vaccine correctly including the technology, components, and benefits. You

may be asking yourself why you should get the vaccine if it does not 100 percent prevent

COVID-19? You can still get COVID-19 after being vaccinated but studies are showing that

vaccinated people are getting mild or moderate illness from the virus if they should encounter

a breakthrough case of COVID-19 if they are fully vaccinated. According to Lisa Maragakis

M.D. and Gabor David Kelen M.D. on Hopkins medicines website “At least one large study

suggests that being vaccinated reduces the chance that you will end up with lingering

symptoms of COVID-19, sometimes referred to as “long COVID”.(Hopkins,1) People are

better off to be fully vaccinated than to contract COVID-19 unvaccinated and possibly suffer

from lingering effects from the illness of COVID-19.

The vaccines are overall similar in the way they are administered, there efficiency, safe

delivery, and way they teach your body to fight off the infection. The main difference

between the two vaccines is when the second shot is given and that the Pfizer vaccine is fully

FDA approved and the Moderna vaccine is only There are many benefits to receiving the

vaccine. If more individuals receive the vaccine, we will create a heard of immunity
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preventing the vaccine from mutating beyond the reach of the vaccine’s preventive measures.

By receiving the vaccine, you are protecting everyone around you by not spreading the

infection to your grandparents or people who have weaker immune systems. Lastly, by

receiving the vaccine you are automatically decreasing your chances of becoming seriously ill

needing a ventilator and possibly ending with your death. There are many benefits to being

vaccinated that all trump the reasons to not be vaccinated based on current studies.
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Works Cited

“Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-

ncov/vaccines/vaccine-benefits.html?s_cid=10465%3Abenefits+of+covid+19+vaccine

%3Asem.ga%3Ap%3ARG%3AGM%3Agen%3APTN%3AFY21.

“Breakthrough Infections: Coronavirus after Vaccination.” Johns Hopkins Medicine,

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-

diseases/coronavirus/breakthrough-infections-coronavirus-after-vaccination.

“Comparing the Differences between Covid-19 Vaccines.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for

Medical Education and Research, www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-

19/vaccine/comparing-vaccines.

“Comparing the Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Vaccines.” GoodRx,

GoodRx, www.goodrx.com/health-topic/vaccines/comparing-covid-19-vaccines.

“Covid Data Tracker Weekly Review.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-

data/covidview/index.html.

“Get the Facts about Covid-19 Vaccines.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education

and Research, 13 Nov. 2021, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-

depth/coronavirus-vaccine/art-20484859.
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Papmehl, Anne. "mRNA Technology and Its Significant Potential to Improve Human

Health." Maclean's, vol. 134, no. 9, Oct. 2021, p. 91. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A677907793/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=bookmark-

OVIC&xid=95c4af58. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021.