Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic teamed up with artificial intelligence firm Nference to launch the largest studies thus far demonstrating the side effects and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, according to two studies published June 28 in Med.
Five things to know:
- In the first study, researchers analyzed 1.2 million EHR notes and more than 130,000 patients within the Mayo system. They compared post-vaccination follow-ups of 51,795 patients who received the Pfizer vaccine, 16,471 patients who received the Moderna vaccine and 68,266 who did not get vaccinated.
- The study found vaccinated patients were likely to experience muscle and joint soreness, myalgia, headache and fatigue, but were not more likely than unvaccinated patients to seek out emergency care.
- Severe events include anaphylaxis, facial paralysis and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. These events were rare and occurred at similar rates in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, the study said.
- In the second study, the researchers analyzed the effectiveness of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. They analyzed rates of positive COVID-19 test results, hospitalization and ICU admission.
- The study found Pfizer is 86 percent effective against COVID-19 and Moderna is 93 percent effective. Both vaccines were 100 percent effective in preventing COVID-19-related ICU admissions.