The efficacy and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines around the world: a mini-review and meta-analysis

• Published in: Annals of clinical microbiology and antimicrobials Vol. 22; no. 1; p. 42
• Main Authors: Soheili, Marzieh, Khateri, Sorour, Moradpour, Farhad, Mohammadzedeh, Pardis, Zareie, Mostafa, Mortazavi, Seyede Maryam Mahdavi, Manifar, Sima, Kohan, Hamed Gilzad, Moradi, Yousef
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 19-05-2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Biological markers; Clinical trials; Confidence intervals; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 vaccines; COVID-19 Vaccines - adverse effects; COVID-19 Vaccines - therapeutic use; Effectiveness; Efficacy; Humans; Immunogenicity; Infections; Meta-analysis; mRNA; Nanoparticles; Observational studies; Performance evaluation; Proteins; Reviews; SARS-CoV-2; Sensitivity analysis; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Side effects; Statistical analysis; Subgroups; Tumor necrosis factor; Vaccine; Vaccines; United States; COVID-19; Efficacy; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccine; Effectiveness
• ISSN: 1476-0711; 1476-0711
• DOI: 10.1186/s12941-023-00594-y

This meta-analysis evaluated the Efficacy and Effectiveness of several COVID-19 vaccines, including AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Bharat, and Johnson & Johnson, to better estimate their immunogenicity, benefits, or side effects.
Studies reporting the Efficacy and Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines from November 2020 to April 2022 were included. The pooled Effectiveness/Efficacy with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) with Metaprop order was calculated. The results were presented in forest plots. Predefined subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were also performed.
A total of twenty articles were included in this meta-analysis. After the first dose of the vaccine, the total effectiveness of all COVID-19 vaccines in our study was 71% (95% CI 0.65, 0.78). The total effectiveness of vaccines after the second dose was 91% (95% CI 0.88, 0.94)). The total efficacy of vaccines after the first and second doses was 81% (95% CI 0.70, 0.91) and 71% (95% CI 0.62, 0.79), respectively. The effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine after the first and second dose was the highest among other studied vaccines ((74% (95% CI, 0.65, 0.83) and 93% (95% CI, 0.89, 0.97), respectively). The highest first dose overall effectiveness of the studied vaccines was against the Gamma variant (74% (95% CI, 0.73, 0.75)), and the highest effectiveness after the second dose was observed against the Beta variant (96% (95% CI, 0.96, 0.96)). The Efficacy for AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines after the first dose was 78% (95% CI, 0.62, 0.95) and 84% (95% CI, 0.77, 0.92), respectively. The second dose Efficacy for AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Bharat was 67% (95% CI, 0.54, 0.80), 93% (95% CI, 0.85, 1.00), and 71% (95% CI, 0.61, 0.82), respectively. The overall efficacy of first and second dose vaccination against the Alfa variant was 84% (95% CI, 0.84, 0.84) and 77% (95% CI, 0.57, 0.97), respectively, the highest among other variants.
mRNA-based vaccines against COVID-19 showed the highest total efficacy and effectiveness than other vaccines. In general, administering the second dose produced a more reliable response and higher effectiveness than a single dose.