The hot vaccine
Caroline Silla from OZ recently shared the details of a discussion she had with a friend about why Pfizer (and not Moderna) is considered “the hot person vaccine.”
Caroline’s own rationale is:
It was first to market, so it was exclusive for a while and very hard to get
It is a tad more effective than Moderna (if you consider 96-94% to be a significant difference)
When the vaccines were new, a number of celebrities and politicians were shown taking the Pfizer vaccine publicly, which might have provided a lasting halo effect.
This article in The Atlantic adds more hypotheses to the mix, including the notion that the “P” in Pfizer is silent, kind of like the “H” in Hermes.
Also, Pfizer is named for a real person, as are many high-fashion brands.
Furthermore, the “f” and the “z” in Pfizer sound cool and fast, unlike the “m,” “d”,” and “n” in Moderna, which linguists call “stops.” Those make the name sound slow.
Both Caroline and The Atlantic article above compared the debate to the iPhone vs. Android battle – in other words, the tyranny of minor differences. What do you think?