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Infectious Diseases

Estimated Effectiveness of COVID-19 Messenger RNA Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Older Male Veterans Health Administration Enrollees, January to September 2021

Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article

1 Credit CME

JAMA Network Open

Published Online: December 15, 2021

Research Letter

Article Information and Disclosures

Yinong Young-Xu, ScD^1,2;

Gabrielle M. Zwain, BA¹;

Ethan I. Powell, BA¹;

Jeremy Smith, MPH¹

Author Affiliations

¹White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermont
²Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire

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In a recent study that estimated COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine effectiveness,¹ we found that the mRNA-1273 (Moderna) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccines were highly effective against SARS-CoV-2 infection before June 2021 among 1 363 180 US veterans who were vaccinated in January and February of 2021. Transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant increased rapidly during the summer of 2021, and waning COVID-19 mRNA vaccine effectiveness has been reported.² Therefore, we reexamined the estimated effectiveness of the 2 COVID-19 mRNA vaccines (mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2) during July to September 2021 among fully vaccinated male veterans aged 65 years or older.

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Article Information

Accepted for Publication: October 20, 2021.

Published: December 15, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.38975

Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2021 Young-Xu Y et al. JAMA Network Open.

Corresponding Author: Yinong Young-Xu, ScD, White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 215 N Main St, White River Junction, VT 05009 (yinong.young-xu@va.gov).

Author Contributions: Dr Young-Xu had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Young-Xu, Smith.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Young-Xu, Zwain, Powell.

Drafting of the manuscript: Young-Xu, Zwain.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Young-Xu, Zwain, Smith.

Obtained funding: Young-Xu.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Young-Xu.

Supervision: Young-Xu.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Young-Xu and Mr Smith reported receiving funding from Pfizer. Ms Zwain reported receiving grants from the US Food and Drug Administration through an interagency agreement with the Veterans Health Administration and from the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health. Ms Zwain also reported receiving funding from Pfizer to her employer for other research projects outside the submitted work. Mr Powell reported receiving grants from the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health, the US Food and Drug Administration, and Pfizer. No other disclosures were reported.

Funding/Support: This project was funded by the US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health.

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The US Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Disclaimer: This article represents the authors’ best judgement and should not bind or obligate the US Department of Veterans Affairs or any other institution.

References

Young-Xu Y , Korves C , Roberts J , et al. Coverage and estimated effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines among US veterans. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(10):e2128391. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.28391 PubMed Google Scholar

Chemaitelly H , Tang P , Hasan MR , et al. Waning of BNT162b2 vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection in Qatar. N Engl J Med. 2021. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2114114 PubMed Google Scholar

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Variants and genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2. Updated April 2, 2021. Accessed October 12, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/

Bajema KL , Dahl RM , Prill MM , et al; SUPERNOVA COVID-19; Surveillance Group; Surveillance Platform for Enteric and Respiratory Infectious Organisms at the VA (SUPERNOVA) COVID-19 Surveillance Group. Effectiveness of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines against COVID-19-associated hospitalization—five Veterans Affairs medical centers, United States, February 1-August 6, 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(37):1294-1299. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7037e3 PubMed Google Scholar Crossref

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 CME points in the American Board of Surgery’s (ABS) Continuing Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.