TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A panel of experts convened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday (Nov. 3) found that based on internal data, three doses of Taiwan's Medigen COVID vaccine offered an efficacy level over 90% against death and severe illness, representing levels of protection equaling or exceeding Moderna.
The experts reviewed a report on the overall protection of Medigen derived from analysis of a domestic medical center database, as well as big data from the national vaccination information management system, and infectious disease notification system database. All 14 experts determined that Medigen had demonstrable protective benefits.
It was found after internal statistical data analysis that three doses of Medigen are 90.3% effective at preventing death and have 91.4% efficacy against moderate to severe COVID, reported Liberty Times.
The internal data analysis compared the level of protection against death from COVID of three Medigen doses and the same number of shots of three other major COVID vaccines for all age groups. The result was that:
- Medigen was found to be 90.3% effective at preventing death from COVID
- AstraZeneca (AZ) efficacy was 60.9%
- Moderna 90%
- Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) 95.6%
Chart shows efficacy of vaccines at preventing death from COVID. (CECC image)
As for the efficacy for avoiding moderate to severe COVID infections:
- Three doses of Medigen were 91.4% effective
- AstraZeneca (AZ) was found to be 65.9% effective
- Moderna was listed at 87.4%
- BNT was 95.8%
Chart shows efficacy of vaccines for preventing moderate-to-severe COVID infections. (CECC image)
These results were derived from the "first stage" of data analysis and the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) will announce complete results in the near future. On Friday afternoon (Nov. 4), experts from Academia Sinica, the National Health Research Institutes, and National Taiwan University will present more information and research on the data.
