DENVER (KDVR) — New data from the Food and Drug Administration shows the two government-approved COVID-19 vaccines work just as well in people who are obese as those who are not.
During summer trials, many doctors were concerned the vaccines may not be as effective in people who are obese — a high-risk group.
“It’s been shown since we’ve had anti-virus vaccines, from tetanus to rabies to flu to hepatitis, they just don’t work as well in people with weight issues,” said Dr. Michael A Snyder, the Medical Director of the Bariatric Surgery Center at Rose Medical Center in Denver.
The trial data shows the two approved vaccines are as effective for obese people as they are for those not obese.
“There’s no indication that (obese) people will do worse with this vaccine,” Snyder said.
Doctors aren’t exactly sure why, but they think it may be because the Pfizer and BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are made from mRNA.