Experts Praise Effectiveness of Moderna and Pfizer Coronavirus Vaccines: 'Ridiculously Encouraging'

Data shows that the two vaccines that are being used across the country, from Moderna and Pfizer, might be some of the most effective ever made.

January 18, 2021

A doctor presents a syringe with the Moderna vaccine at Essen university hospital — Image via Getty/Lukas Schulze
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There is a lot of concern surrounding the new COVID-19 vaccine. Yet, early research suggests that these vaccines might be the most effective vaccines in history.

According to a New York Times report, the two vaccines that are being used across the country, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, are extremely effective.

Although researchers are still learning about the vaccine, one doctor described the public perception of the vaccine—even the positive reviews—as "underselling."

"If anything, the 95 percent number understates the effectiveness, because it counts anyone who came down with a mild case of Covid-19 as a failure," the Times explained. "But turning Covid into a typical flu — as the vaccines evidently did for most of the remaining 5 percent — is actually a success. Of the 32,000 people who received the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine in a research trial, do you want to guess how many contracted a severe Covid case? One."

Dr. Paul Offit, who is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, called the vaccines "ridiculously encouraging" and said that they are "essentially 100 percent effective against serious disease," per the NYT.