What is Comirnaty?

Comirnaty is the brand name for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. It was the first COVID-19 vaccine to be granted full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2021.

Comirnaty is an mRNA vaccine, meaning it contains messenger RNA that teaches our cells how to make a protein that triggers an immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. The vaccine is given as a two-dose primary series, 3 weeks apart, to people ages 12 and older.

Clinical trials found Comirnaty to be safe and highly effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19. In a pivotal trial with over 40,000 participants, the vaccine was 95% effective at preventing COVID-19 after two doses. Protection has been shown to last for at least six months after vaccination.

Over 357 million doses of Comirnaty have been administered in the United States as of October 2023. Studies continue to show the vaccine offers strong protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.

The most common side effects of Comirnaty are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, and fever. Serious side effects are rare but may occur.

The development and authorization of Comirnaty marked a major milestone in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Health officials continue to recommend vaccination with Comirnaty as a primary tool to prevent infection, slow transmission, and reduce the impact of COVID-19.