A critique of the Israel Covid-19 vaccine study


Wong Ang Peng

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is the first to be approved for use in Malaysia. – EPA pic, March 11, 2021.

THE New York Times report on February 25, headlined, “Israel study says Pfizer vaccine is very effective in real-world use”, has resulted in a flurry of similar news reports but with different headlines.
 
Local health professionals also made reference to the news concerning the study by Dagan, Barda, Kepten et al (2021) published on February 24 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
 
A detailed analysis of the Dagan and colleagues’ NEJM paper gave a picture quite different from what was reported by the media. It also begs the question if journalists and health professional find it more convenient not to read the full scientific paper.
 
The published paper in NEJM, “BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in a Nationwide Mass Vaccination Setting”, has ten authors listed, of whom eight disclosed receiving grants from Pfizer outside the published work.
 
The disclosure forms, not visible to unkeen eyes, appeared as attached documents and were not conspicuously mentioned in the paper proper. There is clear conflict of interest and the individual author’s motivation for the study is in question. Only the vaccine manufacturer would be highly motivated to conduct the study to show efficacy of its product.
 
The study by Dagan and colleagues was a follow-up to an early study by Polack, Thomas, Kitchin et al (2020) on the “Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine”, also published in the NEJM. Of the 20 authors, only seven had non-disclosure. The others were either employees of Pfizer who received fees or grants. The study was sponsored, financed and paper written by Pfizer.

Members of the data monitoring committee that was supposed to be independent were anonymous and appointed by the study sponsor. Much can be argued about the integrity of scientific research today when it involves corporate interest.


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Comments


  • Uncle, write a letter to the editor of NEJM la. Where there is a right of reply. Tulis sini jadi circle jerk saja la.

    Posted 3 years ago by G GHAZALI