Pfizer COVID Vaccine vs. Moderna COVID Vaccine

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine are unapproved vaccines that may prevent COVID-19. There is no FDA-approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine use mRNA technology.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to permit the emergency use of the unapproved products, Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

Both the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID Vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine require 2 doses administered intramuscularly. A difference is that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine us a series of two doses (0.3 mL each) 3 weeks apart while the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is administered as a series of two doses (0.5 mL each) 1 month apart.

Side effects of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID Vaccine and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine that are similar include injection site reactions (pain, tenderness, swelling, redness), tiredness/fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, fever, nausea, feeling unwell (malaise), and swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy), and rarely, severe allergic reaction that usually occurs within a few minutes to one hour after getting a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.

There is no information on the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine with other vaccines.

Side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine include:

• injection site reactions (pain, swelling, redness),
• fatigue,
• headache,
• muscle pain,
• chills,
• joint pain,
• fever,
• nausea,
• feeling unwell (malaise), and
• swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy)

Side effects of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine include:

• injection site reactions (pain, swelling, redness),
• fatigue,
• headache,
• muscle pain,
• chills,
• joint pain,
• fever,
• nausea,
• vomiting, and
• swollen lymph nodes in the armpits (lymphadenopathy)

Additional adverse reactions, some of which may be serious, may become apparent with more widespread use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is an unapproved vaccine that may prevent COVID-19. There is no FDA-approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is an unapproved vaccine that may prevent COVID-19. There is no FDA-approved vaccine to prevent COVID-19.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to permit the emergency use of the unapproved product Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine may interact with other medicines.

Tell your doctor all medications and supplements you use and all other vaccines you recently received.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine may interact with other medicines.

Tell your doctor all medications and supplements you use and all other vaccines you recently received.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is a suspension for intramuscular injection administered as a series of two doses (0.3 mL each) 3 weeks apart.

The Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine is a suspension for intramuscular injection administered as a series of two doses (0.5 mL each) 1 month apart.