Which COVID-19 vaccine should you take once both are approved: Pfizer or Moderna?

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer expects the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to join the Pfizer vaccine in being approved in the next week — so which of the two should people get?

The governor spoke about vaccines during her Tuesday briefing. She said she had recently spoken with the CEO of Moderna.

“Over the weekend, the first shipments of the FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine left Portage, Michigan,” Whitmer said. “In the next week, we expect the Moderna vaccine to be approved.

“Doctors have been asking which vaccine should they take? And his answer is to take whichever vaccine is available to you. It doesn’t matter which — the Pfizer or the Moderna, or maybe others that will come online. These are safe and effective.”

The first of Michigan’s front line workers to receive the vaccine got their initial dose Monday.

Doctors at University of Michigan Hospital received a shipment of the vaccines from UPS and talked about the historic moment, which came just 11 months after the start of the pandemic.

“It was a package of hope,” U of M Health System President Dr. David Spahlinger said. “It was a package of hope that we are going to end this, save lives.”