Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Americans on Sunday not to stick to a particular COVID-19 vaccine – saying all three on the market are “safe and effective.”
‘We need to get out of that thought system. The only way you really know the difference between vaccines is to compare them, ”Fauci told ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.”
“We have three highly effective vaccines that are safe and effective. That is the point. “
The White House chief medical advisor said the newest option – the Johnson & Johnson vaccine – has properties that “we really care about,” despite lower efficacy than Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
“It has an efficacy of more than 85 percent [preventing] serious illness and critical illness, and there were no deaths or hospitalizations in any of the countries tested, ”said Fauci.
Comparing the J&J vaccine with the other two authorized ones is complicated because their studies had important differences, Fauci said.
J & J’s study showed approximately 66 percent efficacy against moderate to severe COVID-19, while those for Pfizer and Moderna targeted mild to moderate disease and showed approximately 95 percent efficacy in preventing disease.
The J&J study was also conducted later and in regions where highly contagious new variants were circulating.
“I think we should get away from comparing and dissecting numbers until you compare them. Just be very grateful that we have three really effective vaccines, ”said Fauci.
In a separate interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Fauci said he would not hesitate to take the J&J vaccine if it were the available option.
“If you go to a place and you have J&J, and it’s available now, I would take it. I would personally do the same, ”he told host Chuck Todd on Sunday.
“I think people should be vaccinated as soon and as soon as possible. And if I went to a place where they had J&J, I wouldn’t have any hesitation in taking it. “