Health Expert Compares Pfizer-BioNTech And Moderna Covid-19 Vaccines, Goes Viral

Researchers have blessed us with Covid-19 vaccines in record time—the process could have taken them 10 to 15 years, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization to vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in less than a year. Before 2020, the fastest-ever vaccine—for mumps—took 4 years to develop in the 1960s.

Both of these shots achieve the same result: they help our bodies to develop immunity to the virus that causes Covid-19 without us having to get the illness. There are, however, slight differences between them.

Health expert Amanda Howell has published a comprehensive presentation, inviting everyone to take a closer look at the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines and get a better understanding of the way leading out of this horrific pandemic.

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According to medical experts, allergic reactions from vaccines are rare, but can sometimes happen. In the first data available since authorized immunizations began in the U.S. in December, the CDC reported 353 adverse events (roughly 1.9 million doses have been served nationwide).

Still, the FDA said it was looking into allergic reactions that happened after people were given Pfizer's vaccine. Doran Fink, deputy director of the FDA's division of vaccines and related product applications, said the agency will consider whether additional recommendations on the vaccines are needed after the investigation.

You could say this presentation was Howell's passion project. She has a master's degree in public health and owns a health consulting company; Amanda works primarily in the health education and communication space and finds absolute joy in taking complex scientific topics and making them easier to understand and more enjoyable to look at. Instagram is the main place to find her fun, informative posts on a wide range of health topics.

"My post started as a comparison between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and quickly turned into an easily-digestible source of Covid-19 vaccine information," Howell told Bored Panda. "My community looks to me as an expert in matters of public health and they had questions about the differences between the two. Moreover, not many people understand mRNA technology or research in this area spanning decades. Making one of my classic 'swipe posts' has always been an incredibly easy way for me to get information about important topics out to my community quickly."

In terms of effectiveness for Covid-19 and use in the general public, Howell thinks both of these vaccines are on the same playing field and equally amazing. "Neither is more preferable than the other. My recommendation is to get whatever one is offered to you as soon as possible. From a storage perspective, Moderna is less complicated for health organizations because it doesn't require an ultra-cold freezer for storage," she explained.

Given the fact that there is a lot of scary-sounding misinformation online regarding vaccines, mRNA technology, and health, Howell advises people to get their information from the experts.

"'Digital pandemics' (the viral spread of misinformation online) are a massive public health issue. Experts in public health are working hard to combat misinformation, much of this is done on our time (for free). We don't have any agenda other than protecting the health and wellness of our communities," she added.