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How do you find out if a vaccine will work?
Why a vaccine effectiveness study should be double-blinded, randomized controlled trial? How do you calculate the effectiveness of a vaccine and what does it mean in the real world?
Lately, two major companies (Pfzier and Moderna) announced results of their vaccine effectiveness, both claiming to be over 90% effective from interim results of their phase 3 trials. At the time of writing this, there are 13 phase 3 trials currently underway. What does a 90% effectiveness really mean? How is this measured and is that convincing enough for the public that it will indeed work when it is rolled out? If you are curious about how vaccine effectiveness is calculated, then read on. You will soon realize that this is really just common sense represented by numbers. There is nothing fancy nor any complicated mathematical formulae used when calculating the effectiveness of a vaccine.
Once a vaccine is built in a laboratory and there are enough suggestions that this vaccine could work, there is a process that needs to be followed before a vaccine is approved by regulators. This process is meant to ensure that the vaccine in question is indeed effective and safe. There are 3 phases of clinical trials in humans before a vaccine is approved…
