Table 1.
The messenger RNA vaccine BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) effectiveness against infection and against disease in the weeks following vaccination with the first dose
| 1–7 days after dose 1 | 8–14 days after dose 1 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases (PCR positive) | Controls (PCR negative) | Effectiveness in % (95% CI) a | Cases (PCR positive) | Controls (PCR negative) | Effectiveness in % (95% CI) a | |||||
| Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | |||
| Effectiveness against infection | ||||||||||
| Any infection with the B.1.1.7 variantb | 279 | 17 262 | 309 | 17 232 | 9.9 (0.0–23.7) | 346 | 17 331 | 384 | 17 293 | 10.1 (0.0–22.6) |
| Any infection with the B.1.351 variantc | 276 | 19 071 | 276 | 19 071 | 0.0 (0.0–15.8) | 526 | 19 247 | 470 | 19 303 | 0.0 (0.0–1.2) |
| Effectiveness against disease | ||||||||||
| Any severe, critical, or fatal disease with the B.1.1.7 variantd | 12 | 431 | 19 | 424 | 37.9 (0.0–72.8) | 9 | 426 | 14 | 421 | 36.5 (0.0–76.0) |
| Any severe, critical, or fatal disease with the B.1.351 variante | 16 | 321 | 6 | 331 | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) | 17 | 322 | 6 | 333 | 0.0 (0.0–0.0) |
| Any severe, critical, or fatal disease with any SARS-CoV-2 infectionf | 49 | 1807 | 44 | 1812 | 0.0 (0.0–27.6) | 52 | 1831 | 70 | 1813 | 26.4 (0.0–49.9) |
| 15–21 days after dose 1 | ≥14 days after second dose | |||||||||
| Cases (PCR positive) | Controls (PCR negative) | Effectiveness in % (95% CI) a | Cases (PCR positive) | Controls (PCR negative) | Effectiveness in % (95% CI) a | |||||
| Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | Vaccinated | Unvaccinated | |||
| Effectiveness against infection | ||||||||||
| Any infection with the B.1.1.7 variantb | 148 | 17 380 | 422 | 17 106 | 65.5 (58.2–71.5) | 50 | 16 354 | 465 | 15 939 | 89.5 (85.9–92.3) |
| Any infection with the B.1.351 variantc | 338 | 19 400 | 623 | 19 115 | 46.5 (38.7–53.3) | 179 | 19 396 | 698 | 18 877 | 75.0 (70.5–78.9) |
| Effectiveness against disease | ||||||||||
| Any severe, critical, or fatal disease with the B.1.1.7 variantd | 7 | 434 | 24 | 417 | 72.0 (32.0–90.0) | 0 | 401 | 20 | 381 | 100.0 (81.7–100.0) |
| Any severe, critical, or fatal disease with the B.1.351 variante | 9 | 336 | 20 | 325 | 56.5 (0.0–82.8) | 0 | 300 | 14 | 286 | 100.0 (73.7–100.0) |
| Any severe, critical, or fatal disease with any SARS-CoV-2 infectionf | 23 | 1845 | 83 | 1785 | 73.2 (56.8–84.0) | 3 | 1692 | 109 | 1586 | 97.4 (92.2–99.5) |
aVaccine effectiveness was estimated using the test-negative, case–control study design.2 Cases and controls were matched one-to-one by age, sex, nationality, and reason for PCR testing. Vaccine effectiveness is given by2 
.
bAny B.1.1.7 PCR-confirmed infection. A B.1.1.7 infection is proxied as an S-gene ‘target failure’ case using the TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit platform (Thermo Fisher Scientific, USA), applying the criterion of PCR cycle threshold value ≤ 30 for both the N and ORF1ab genes, but a negative outcome for the S-gene. The median date of vaccination was March 1 2021 for the cases and February 28 2021 for their matched controls.
cAny B.1.351 PCR-confirmed infection. With only B.1.351 and B.1.1.7 cases identified in the viral genome sequencing after 7 March 2021, a B.1.351 infection is proxied as the complement of the B.1.1.7 criterion, that is any infection with a Ct value ≤ 30 for the N, ORF1ab and S genes between March 8 and 31 2021. The median date of vaccination was March 7 2021 for the cases and March 1 2021 for their matched controls.
dAny B.1.1.7 PCR-confirmed infection that led to severe, critical or fatal disease. Severe disease, critical disease and COVID-19 death were defined based on the World Health Organization criteria for classifying SARS-CoV-2 infection severity3 and COVID-19-related death.4
eAny B.1.351 PCR-confirmed infection that led to severe, critical or fatal disease. Severe disease, critical disease and COVID-19 death were defined based on the World Health Organization criteria for classifying SARS-CoV-2 infection severity3 and COVID-19-related death.4
fAny PCR-confirmed infection that led to severe, critical or fatal disease. With the dominance of both B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants during the study period, this effectiveness is a combined measure against both of these variants. Severe disease, critical disease and COVID-19 death were defined based on the World Health Organization criteria for classifying SARS-CoV-2 infection severity3 and COVID-19-related death.4