Riverside Health System received 5,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine last week. Like the Pfizer vaccine that the health system received on Dec. 15, the Moderna doses will be used to vaccinate Riverside’s frontline health care workers against COVID-19.
According to Cindy Williams, Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Riverside, the Moderna vaccine has a similar efficacy rate to Pfizer, falling just under 95 percent (Pfizer has a 95 percent efficacy rate after the second dose). Pfizer and Moderna are very similar: both are messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines and have similar safety protocols.
Both vaccines also require two doses. People who receive the Moderna vaccine will take their second dose 28 days after receiving the first and those who receive the Pfizer vaccine will take their second dose 21 days after their first. According to Williams, both second doses can be taken within four days of the recommended timelines.
One difference between the two vaccines is minimum age requiremen...