NEW STUDY — Pfizer Recipients Face 37% Higher Risk of Death Than Moderna Recipients

Study of 1.47 million Florida adults by MIT’s Retsef Levi and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo finds significantly higher all-cause, cardiovascular, and COVID-19 mortality after Pfizer vaccination.

by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

The study titled “Twelve-Month All-Cause Mortality after Initial COVID-19 Vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech or mRNA-1273 among Adults Living in Florida” was just uploaded to the MedRxiv preprint server. This study was headed by MIT Professor Retsef Levi, with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo serving as senior author:

Study Overview

• Population: 1,470,100 noninstitutionalized Florida adults (735,050 Pfizer recipients and 735,050 Moderna recipients).

• Intervention: Two doses of either:

  • BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech)

  • mRNA-1273 (Moderna)

• Follow-up Duration: 12 months after second dose.

• Comparison: Head-to-head between Pfizer vs. Moderna recipients.

• Main Outcomes:

  • All-cause mortality

  • Cardiovascular mortality

  • COVID-19 mortality

  • Non-COVID-19 mortality

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All-Cause Mortality

Pfizer recipients had a significantly higher 12-month all-cause death rate than Moderna recipients — about 37% higher risk.

• Pfizer Risk: 847.2 deaths per 100,000 people

• Moderna Risk: 617.9 deaths per 100,000 people

• Risk Difference:
  ➔ +229.2 deaths per 100,000 (Pfizer excess)

• Risk Ratio (RR):
  ➔ 1.37 (i.e., 37% higher mortality risk with Pfizer)

• Odds Ratio (Adjusted):
  ➔ 1.384 (95% CI: 1.331–1.439)

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Cardiovascular Mortality

Pfizer recipients had a 53% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular causes compared to Moderna recipients.

• Pfizer Risk: 248.7 deaths per 100,000 people

• Moderna Risk: 162.4 deaths per 100,000 people

• Risk Difference:
  ➔ +86.3 deaths per 100,000 (Pfizer excess)

• Risk Ratio (RR):
  ➔ 1.53 (i.e., 53% higher cardiovascular mortality risk)

• Odds Ratio (Adjusted):
  ➔ 1.540 (95% CI: 1.431–1.657)

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COVID-19 Mortality

Pfizer recipients had nearly double the risk of COVID-19 death compared to Moderna recipients.

• Pfizer Risk: 55.5 deaths per 100,000 people

• Moderna Risk: 29.5 deaths per 100,000 people

• Risk Difference:
  ➔ +26.0 deaths per 100,000 (Pfizer excess)

• Risk Ratio (RR):
  ➔ 1.88 (i.e., 88% higher COVID-19 mortality risk)

• Odds Ratio (Adjusted):
  ➔ 1.882 (95% CI: 1.596–2.220)

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Non-COVID-19 Mortality

Pfizer recipients faced a 35% higher risk of dying from non-COVID causes compared to Moderna recipients.

• Pfizer Risk: 791.6 deaths per 100,000 people

• Moderna Risk: 588.4 deaths per 100,000 people

• Risk Difference:
  ➔ +203.3 deaths per 100,000 (Pfizer excess)

• Risk Ratio (RR):
  ➔ 1.35 (i.e., 35% higher non-COVID mortality risk)

• Odds Ratio (Adjusted):
  ➔ 1.356 (95% CI: 1.303–1.412)

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Biological Explanations

The findings of this study are surprising, given that Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine contains approximately three times more mRNA (100 µg) than Pfizer’s BNT162b2 vaccine (30 µg). This suggests that the higher mortality observed among Pfizer recipients could potentially be related to higher levels of DNA contamination — an issue that has been consistently reported worldwide:

The paper hypothesizes differences between Pfizer and Moderna may be due to:

• Different lipid nanoparticle compositions

• Differences in manufacturing, biodistribution, or storage conditions

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Final Conclusion

Florida adults who received Pfizer's BNT162b2 vaccine had higher 12-month risks of all-cause, cardiovascular, COVID-19, and non-COVID-19 mortality compared to Moderna’s mRNA-1273 vaccine recipients.

Unfortunately, without an unvaccinated group, the study cannot determine the absolute increase in mortality risk attributable to mRNA vaccination itself. However, based on the mountain of existing evidence, it is likely that an unvaccinated cohort would have experienced much lower mortality risks. It’s also important to remember that Moderna mRNA injections are still dangerous.

As the authors conclude:

These findings are suggestive of differential non-specific effects of the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccines, and potential concerning adverse effects on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. They underscore the need to evaluate vaccines using clinical endpoints that extend beyond their targeted diseases.

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation

www.mcculloughfnd.org

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