Efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines

There has been an extraordinary effort, technical as well as economic to produce effective vaccines. The vaccines with known effectivity data are those that have published phase 3 results. The most relevant data of these clinical trials are resumed here grouped by type of vaccine. While data on effectivity are obtained from clinical trials, the effectiveness must be measured in real life, considering that vaccines have been implemented in Spain since December 27, 2020. The vaccines to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infections seem safe and effective, with a moderate quality of the evidence. Currently, the adult population has been vaccinated (first age group with evidence of effectivity and safety) with the available vaccines and according to risk groups established by the Health Ministry, afterwards other groups have been added such as pregnant women and adolescents, and recently the schoolers 5 to 11 years after the publication of effectivity and safety in this age group of one of the vaccines authorized in the European Union. Despite the limitations of the published clinical trials, the current pandemic situation means a great public health threat and an enormous loss of lives due to SARS-CoV-2, which makes the risk benefit balance favorable to vaccination.