Comirnaty (Pfizer) | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (also known as BNT162b2)
Comirnaty is a vaccine for preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people from the age of 6 months.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines which are mRNA vaccines. Novavax COVID-19 vaccine which is a protein subunit vaccine. J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, a viral vector vaccine has expired and is no longer available for use in the United States as of May 6, 2023.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines (COMIRNATY®) are based on BioNTech's proprietary mRNA technology and were developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer. BioNTech is the Marketing Authorization Holder for BNT162b2 (Original) and BNT162b2 Bivalent (Original and Omicron BA.
Both of the mRNA vaccines available in the US are highly effective against severe COVID-19, but recent studies suggest that Moderna's elicits a stronger immune response and might be better at preventing breakthrough infections.
NEW YORK and MAINZ, GERMANY, March 14, 2023 —Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to provide a single booster dose of the companies' Omicron BA. 4/BA.
Comirnaty (Pfizer)
As part of Australia's Vaccine and Treatment Strategy, the Australian Government has made several agreements to purchase doses of the Pfizer vaccine. This vaccine is manufactured overseas. The TGA provisionally approved the Pfizer vaccine for use in Australia on 25 January 2021.
Spikevax (Moderna) is approved and available for use as a primary course in people aged 6 months and over.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent, or COMIRNATY (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) will be given to you as an injection into the muscle.
According to Pfizer, the name Comirnaty (pronounced Koe-mir'-na-tee) was selected because it “represents a combination of the terms COVID-19, mRNA, community, and immunity.” co = COVID-19 (which in turn stands for COronaVIrus Disease 2019, the year it was discovered).
What's in the Pfizer vaccine. Pfizer is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. This type of vaccine uses a genetic code called RNA to make your body's cells produce the coronavirus' specific spike protein. Your immune system cells then recognise the spike protein as a threat and begin building an immune response against it.
Pfizer and BioNTech simply formally "branded" or named their vaccine Comirnaty. BioNTech is the German biotechnology company that partnered with Pfizer in bringing this COVID-19 vaccine to market. "Pfizer Comirnaty" and "Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine" are biologically and chemically the same thing.
COMIRNATY is an active immunization to prevent COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 12 years of age and older.
Moderna's name combines the words "modified" and "RNA", which happens to contain the word "modern.”
The monovalent Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is no longer authorized for use in the United States.
Approval for use in Australia
Nuvaxovid (Novavax) is approved and available for use as a primary course in people aged 12 years and over. Novavax is approved and available for use as a booster in people aged 18 years and over.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent is a vaccine for use in individuals 6 months of age and older to prevent COVID-191. The FDA has authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent under an EUA.
It found bivalent vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna to be 58.7% effective against hospitalization compared to 25% for the monovalent ones that preceded them, and 61.8% effective against infection compared to 24.9% for the monovalent vaccine.
As a result, the EUAs of the original monovalent mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna for the prevention of Covid-19 have been revoked, meaning they are no longer authorised for use in the US.
How many doses for Moderna? And how far apart? Despite their similarities, the Moderna doses have more than three times the amount of mRNA material (100 micrograms), compared to Pfizer (30 micrograms). The dose spacing is also different: three weeks apart for Pfizer and four weeks for Moderna.
Now, a new study has flagged higher risks of heart inflammation associated with Moderna's shot compared with the rival from Pfizer and BioNTech.
The CDC recommends a bivalent (containing components of both the original strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the omicron variant of the virus) COVID-19 booster for people ages 5 years and older.