Headline: Study Suggests Higher Death Rates Among Pfizer Vaccine Recipients Compared to Moderna in Florida

Key Takeaways

šŸ”¹ What Happened?

  • A Florida study (not yet peer-reviewed) found adults who got 2 doses of Pfizerā€™s COVID-19 vaccine had more deaths within a year compared to Moderna recipients.
  • Pfizer group: 847 deaths per 100,000 people.
  • Moderna group: 618 deaths per 100,000 people.

šŸ”¹ Who Did the Study?

  • Led by Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Floridaā€™s top health official, and researchers from MIT and Floridaā€™s health department.

šŸ”¹ How Was It Done?

  • Compared 1.5 million adults (half Pfizer, half Moderna) matched for age, sex, and other factors.
  • Tracked deaths from any cause (not just COVID-19) for 12 months after vaccination.

What Else Did They Find?

  • Pfizer recipients also had higher rates of:
    • Heart-related deaths.
    • Deaths from COVID-19 itself.

Important Context

āš ļø Limitations of the Study

  • Did not account for pre-existing health conditions (like diabetes or heart disease).
  • Smaller sample size after matching participants.
  • Not peer-reviewed yet (other scientists havenā€™t verified the methods/results).

āš ļø Why Compare Pfizer vs. Moderna?

  • Researchers say comparing two vaccines helps avoid biases (e.g., differences in health habits between vaccinated and unvaccinated people).
  • Critics ask: ā€œWhy not compare vaccinated vs. unvaccinated?ā€

Whatā€™s the Big Picture?

  • Vaccines save lives by preventing severe COVID-19, but non-specific effects (like impacts on overall health) are still being studied.
  • Neither Pfizer nor Moderna commented on the findings.