A comprehensive analysis of the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines

Cai, Changjing; Peng, Yinghui; Shen, Edward; Huang, Qiaoqiao; Chen, Yihong; Liu, Ping; Guo, Cao; Feng, Ziyang; Gao, Le; Zhang, Xiangyang; Gao, Yan; Liu, Yihan; Han, Ying; Zeng, Shan; Shen, Hong

The numbers of cases and deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are continuously increasing. Many people are concerned about the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines. We performed a comprehensive analysis of the published trials of COVID-19 vaccines and the real-world data from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Globally, our research found that the efficacy of all vaccines exceeded 70%, and RNA-based vaccines had the highest efficacy of 94.29%; moreover, Black or African American people, young people and males may experience greater vaccine efficacy. The spectrum of vaccine-related adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is extremely broad, the most frequent ADRs are pain, fatigue and headache. Most ADRs are tolerable and are mainly grade 1 or 2 in severity. Some severe ADRs have been identified (thromboembolic events: 21-75 cases per million doses; myocarditis/pericarditis: 2-3 cases per million doses). In summary, vaccines are a powerful tool that can be used to control the COVID-19 pandemic, with high efficacy and tolerable ADRs. In addition, the spectrum of ADRs associated with the vaccines is broad, and most of the reactions appear within a week, while some may be delayed. Therefore, ADRs after vaccination need to be identified and addressed in a timely manner.