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COVID-19

Higher Mortality Risk Associated with Pfizer's BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Recent research based on state-level public health databases in Florida has found a significant higher risk of mortality among adults who received the Pfizer-developed BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine compared to those who received the Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine. The study matched 1,470,100 noninstitutionalized adult Florida residents who received at least two doses of either vaccine between December 18, 2020, and August 31, 2021. The analysis revealed a higher risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, COVID-19, and non-COVID-19 mortality among BNT162b2 recipients.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality among BNT162b2 recipients (847.2 deaths per 100,000) compared to mRNA-1273 recipients (617.9 deaths per 100,000).
  • BNT162b2 recipients had a higher risk of cardiovascular mortality (248.7 deaths per 100,000) compared to mRNA-1273 recipients (162.4 deaths per 100,000).
  • COVID-19 mortality was also higher among BNT162b2 recipients (55.5 deaths per 100,000) compared to mRNA-1273 recipients (29.5 deaths per 100,000).
  • The study's negative control outcomes did not show any indication of meaningful unobserved residual confounding.
  • The findings suggest differential non-specific effects of the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines and potential concerning adverse effects on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.
  • The study highlights the need to evaluate vaccines using clinical endpoints that extend beyond their targeted diseases.

Statistics:

  • Total number of noninstitutionalized adult Florida residents who met inclusion criteria: 9,162,484
  • Number of BNT162b2 vaccine recipients: 5,328,226
  • Number of mRNA-1273 vaccine recipients: 3,834,258
  • Number of matched vaccinees: 1,470,100
  • Odds ratio (95% CI) for all-cause mortality: 1.384 (1.331, 1.439)
  • Odds ratio (95% CI) for cardiovascular mortality: 1.540 (1.431, 1.657)
  • Odds ratio (95% CI) for COVID-19 mortality: 1.882 (1.596, 2.220)
  • Odds ratio (95% CI) for non-COVID-19 mortality: 1.356 (1.303, 1.412)

Sources:

  • medrxiv.org (preprint abstract)
  • NewsRx (News Reporter-Staff News Editor)

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