Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines

As of 2022, the global population has access to several mRNA and traditional inactivated vaccines. However, their effectiveness in preventing infection, hospitalization, and COVID-associated mortality in Jordan has yet to be evaluated. The purpose of this observational study was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of three approved vaccines against COVID-19 in a sample of the Jordanian population. The study was conducted between July 2021 and 2022 in a sample of adult patients presenting to hospitals across Jordan and receiving one of the three vaccines – Pfizer (BNT162b2), Astra Zeneca (ChAdOx1-S), or Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV). Data were collected to measure the rates of infection without hospitalization, infection with hospitalization, and death. The sample included patients with one of the following chronic conditions: cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, or diabetes. Primary data were obtained from patients’ health records. The sample included 6132 adults from Jordan, with a mean age 52 ± 17 years. The rates of death in patients receiving two doses of any vaccine ranged between 0.175 and 2.77%, compared with 0.69-13.53% in patients receiving only one dose. The rates of hospitalization were 6-7.97% with two doses, compared to 7.98-25.13% with one dose. The rates of infection without hospitalization were significantly higher in the two-dose group (6-25.1%) compared with those who had received only one dose of any COVID-19 vaccine (0.69-10.61%). In conclusion, receiving two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine was associated with lower odds of mortality and hospitalization and higher odds of infection. More research is needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.