Study: Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine less effective in kids
The study, led by The New York State Department of Health, found that during the Omicron era, the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine declined rapidly.;
New York: Pfizer's Covid vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 has proved to be significantly less effective than in older adolescents or adults against the infectious virus, according to a study.
The yet to be peer-reviewed study, led by The New York State Department of Health, found that during the Omicron era, the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine declined rapidly -- from 68 per cent to 12 per cent for children aged 5-11 years.
Vaccine efficacy also declined from 66 per cent to 51 per cent for those between 12 and 17 years.
Although vaccination was found protective against severe disease the efficacy against hospitalisation also declined from 85 per cent to 73 per cent for children aged between 12 and 17 years, and from 100 per cent to 48 per cent for those aged between 5 and 11 years.
The difference in effectiveness may be explained by "lower vaccine dose", said the researchers. Compared to children 12-17 years, who received two 30g doses,children 5-11 years, received two 10g doses. The study examined Pfizer vaccine effectiveness from December 13, 2021 to January 30, 2022, among 852,384 fully-vaccinated children 12-17 years and 365,502 children 5-11 years.
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