Comirnaty™ (Pfizer/BioNTech) is a vaccine that protects against COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
- Name: Comirnaty™
- Manufacturer: Pfizer/BioNtech
- Type of vaccine: mRNA COVID-19 vaccine
- Number of doses: 2 given from 8 weeks apart (minimum 21 days), additional and booster doses as age appropriate
- New Zealand availability: The Government has guaranteed that every New Zealander will have access to this vaccine.
How Comirnaty is made and what it contains
On this page you will find:
- What type of vaccine is the Comirnaty vaccine is
- How mRNA vaccine technology works
- How the vaccine is made
- What the vaccine contains
Visit page: How Comirnaty is made and what it contains.
How the vaccine works and the protection it provides
On this page you will find:
- How mRNA vaccines, like Comirnaty, work
- How protective is this vaccine?
Visit page: How the vaccine works and the protection it provides.
Comirnaty general resources:
Guidance supporting the administration of mRNA-CV vaccine
Comparison Chart - mRNA-CV Comirnaty vaccines v9
Instructions for multi-dose vial Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine: preparation and administration
Comirnaty FAQ section:
Please visit here for all frequently answered questions on the Cormirnaty vaccine.
Visit page: Comirnaty FAQ section
High risk 6 months to 4 years old COVID resources
On this page, you will find resources for vaccinating high risk 6m to 4yrs with Comirnaty (3mcg) 6m-4yrs maroon cap.
Visit page: Comirnaty (3mcg) 6m to 4 years maroon cap COVID resources
5 to 11 years old COVID resources
On this page, you will find resources for vaccinating 5 to 11-year-olds.
Visit page: 5 to 11 years old COVID resources
Comirnaty 12 years plus (purple cap) has been replaced with 2 grey cap vaccines
The Comirnaty 12+ purple cap vaccine has now been replaced by two grey top vaccines:
- Comirnaty 30mcg 12+ grey cap, which replaces the purple cap for primary courses
- Comirnaty 15/15mcg grey cap, the bivalent vaccine which will be used for boosters.
Visit page for more details and resources: Comirnaty grey cap vaccines.
Medsafe Comirnaty age 5-11-year-olds (orange cap)
https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datasheet/c/Comirnaty0.2mlOrangeCapinj.pdf
https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Consumers/cmi/c/Comirnaty0.2mlOrangeCap.pdf
Medsafe Comirnaty grey caps
Comirnaty 30mcg 12+ Primary course
Comirnaty 15/15mcg 16+ Boosters.
Be careful to get the latest datasheets - here is the MedSafe datasheet search page.
References
- Polack FP, Thomas SJ, Kitchin N, Absalon J, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, et al. Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(27):2603-15.
- Thompson M, Burgess J, Naleway A, et al. Interim Estimates of Vaccine Effectiveness of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Health Care Personnel, First Responders, and Other Essential and Frontline Workers — Eight U.S. Locations, December 2020–March 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 2021.
- Dagan N, Barda N, Kepten E, Miron O, Perchik S, Katz MA, et al. BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine in a Nationwide Mass Vaccination Setting. New England Journal of Medicine. 2021.
- Clancy, S. & Brown, W. (2008) Translation: DNA to mRNA to Protein. Nature Education 1(1):101
- Comirnaty data sheet https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datasheet/c/comirnatyinj.pdf
- Petousis-Harris H. Assessing the Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Primer. Drug Saf. 2020;43(12):1205-10.
- Law B, Sturkenboom M. D2. 3 Priority list of adverse events of special interest: COVID-19. The Brighton Collaboration. https://brightoncollaboration.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SPEAC_D2.3_V2.0_COVID-19_20200525_public.pdf.
- Shimbabukuro T, CDC-COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. COVID-19 vaccine safety update. March 2021. 2021 1 March 2021.Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/downloads/slides-2021-02/28-03-01/05-covid-Shimabukuro.pdf
- UK Health Security Agency. (2021). COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report Week 40. [last update 7 October 2021; cited 14 October 2021] Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surv…
- Nordström P, Ballin M, Nordström A. Association between risk of COVID-19 infection in nonimmune individuals and COVID-19 immunity in their family members. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2021. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.5814