COVID-19 vaccine comparison adverse events Biontech vs Moderna 2020

Published by
Matej Mikulic,
Dec 16, 2020
As of mid-December 2020, the COVID-19 vaccine from the Biontech/Pfizer cooperation showed significant lower rates of severe adverse events than Moderna's product, with the exception of chills where Moderna showed a lower rate. During November, both sites reported nearly the exact same efficacy of around 95 percent of their vaccines.

Severe adverse events in COVID-19 vaccines developed by BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna as of December 2020*

CharacteristicBioNTech/Pfizer (BNT162b2)Moderna (mRNA-1273)
Fatigue 4.6 10.6
Myalgia 2.2 10
Arthralgia 1 5.8
Headache 3.2 5
Chills 2.1 1.5
Showing entries 1 to 5 (5 entries in total)
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Percentage of vaccinated4.64.62.22.2113.23.22.12.110.610.610105.85.8551.51.5BioNTech/Pfizer (BNT162b2)Moderna (mRNA-1273)FatigueMyalgiaArthralgiaHeadacheChills
02.557.51012.5

© Statista 2025
Download
Show detailed source information?
Register for free
Already a member?
Log in
Sources

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

December 2020

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

as of December 2020

Supplementary notes

* For Pfizer/Biontech, the briefing docs use "severe"; for Moderna, "Grade 3".

Citation formats
Access all statistics starting from $2,388 USD yearly *

* For commercial use only

Basic Account

For single users
$0 USD
Always free
Register now
Access limited to Free Statistics. Premium Statistics are not included.
  • Free Statistics
Based on your interests

Starter Account

For single users
$199 USD
per month, billed annually 1
Buy now
  • Free Statistics
  • Premium Statistics

Professional Account

For teams of up to 5 people
$1,299 USD
per month, billed annually 1
Buy now
  • Free + Premium Statistics
  • Reports
  • Market Insights

1 All prices do not include sales tax. The account requires an annual contract and will renew after one year to the regular list price.

Compare accounts
Leading companies trust Statista:
paypal google adobe pg samsung telekom

Related reports: Available to download in PDF or PPTX format

All datain one format
All data
in one format
Small and medium-sized biotech companies
  • 44 page/s
  • English
  • pptx
  • Detailed references

Everything on "Small and medium-sized biotech companies" in one document: edited and divided into chapters, including detailed references.

Go to report
Further reports
I think of Statista as Google for researchers. Statista provides you with the information you search for right away.
Dr. Horst Stipp

Dr. Horst Stipp
EVP, Research & Innovation, Advertising Research Foundation

Statistics on " Coronavirus (COVID-19): vaccines and vaccination campaign "

Other statistics that may interest you Coronavirus (COVID-19): vaccines and vaccination campaign

Pandemic situation

5

Search for vaccines

7

Leading products and companies

7

Vaccination campaign

5

Distribution inequality

5

Vaccination approval and willingness

8

Further related statistics

18

Discover Statista

Need help with using Statista for your research? Tutorials and first steps

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

Statistics

Do you have any questions about our business solutions?

We provide you with detailed information about our Professional Account.

All features, all contents, at all times: Learn more about our professional solutions.

* For commercial use only

Basic Account

For single users
$0 USD
Always free
Register now
Access limited to Free Statistics. Premium Statistics are not included.
  • Free Statistics
Based on your interests

Starter Account

For single users
$199 USD
per month, billed annually 1
Buy now
  • Free Statistics
  • Premium Statistics

Professional Account

For teams of up to 5 people
$1,299 USD
per month, billed annually 1
Buy now
  • Free + Premium Statistics
  • Reports
  • Market Insights

1 All prices do not include sales tax. The account requires an annual contract and will renew after one year to the regular list price.

Compare accounts
Learn more about how Statista can support your business.