Effectiveness of 2-dose BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech) MRNA Vaccine in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children Aged 5–11 Years and Adolescents Aged 12–15 Years — PROTECT Cohort, July 2021–February 2022

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fowlkes, Ashley L. ; Yoon, Sarang K. ; Lutrick, Karen ; Gwynn, Lisa ; Burns, Joy ; Grant, Lauren ; Phillips, Andrew L. ; Ellingson, Katherine ; Ferraris, Maria V. ; LeClair, Lindsay B. ; Mathenge, Clare ; Yoo, Young M. ; Thiese, Matthew S. ; Gerald, Lynn B. ; Solle, Natasha Schaefer ; Jeddy, Zuha ; Odame-Bamfo, Leah ; Mak, Josephine ; Hegmann, Kurt T. ; Gerald, Joe K. ; Ochoa, Jezahel S. ; Berry, Mark ; Rose, Spencer ; Lamberte, Julie Mayo ; Madhivanan, Purnima ; Pubillones, Felipe A. ; Rai, Ramona P. ; Dunnigan, Kayan ; Jones, John T. ; Krupp, Karl ; Edwards, Laura J. ; Bedrick, Edward J. ; Sokol, Brian E. ; Lowe, Ashley ; McLeland-Wieser, Hilary ; Jovel, Krystal S. ; Fleary, Deanna E. ; Khan, Sana M. ; Poe, Brandon ; Hollister, James ; Lopez, Joanna ; Rivers, Patrick ; Beitel, Shawn ; Tyner, Harmony L. ; Naleway, Allison L. ; Olsho, Lauren E. W. ; Caban-Martinez, Alberto J. ; Burgess, Jefferey L. ; Thompson, Mark G. ; Gaglani, Manjusha
• Corporate Authors:
  CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response Team. ; Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health ; University of Arizona. College of Medicine. ; Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.. ; Abt Associates, Rockville, Maryland ; University of Arizona. College of Public Health. ; Baylor Scott & White Health. ; St. Luke’s (Duluth, Minnesota) ; Center for Health Research (Kaiser-Permanente Medical Care Program. Northwest Region) Texas A&M University. College of Medicine.
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? Receipt of 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine has been shown to be effective in preventing infection with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variants in persons aged ≥12 years.
  
  What is added by this report? Children and adolescents aged 5–15 years were tested for SARS-CoV-2 weekly, irrespective of symptoms, during July 2021–February 2022. Approximately one half of Omicron infections in unvaccinated children and adolescents were asymptomatic. Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine reduced the risk of Omicron infection by 31% among children aged 5–11 years and by 59% among persons aged 12–15 years.
  
  What are the implications for public health practice? All eligible children and adolescents should remain up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations.
  
  The BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was recommended by CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for persons aged 12–15 years (referred to as adolescents in this report) on May 12, 2021, and for children aged 5–11 years on November 2, 2021 (1–4). Real-world data on vaccine effectiveness (VE) in these age groups are needed, especially because when the B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variants became predominant in the United States in December 2021, early investigations of VE demonstrated a decline in protection against symptomatic infection for adolescents aged 12–15 years and adults* (5). The PROTECT† prospective cohort of 1,364 children and adolescents aged 5–15 years was tested weekly for SARS-CoV-2, irrespective of symptoms, and upon COVID-19–associated illness during July 25, 2021–February 12, 2022. Among unvaccinated participants (i.e., those who had received no COVID-19 vaccine doses) with any laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, those with B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variants infections were more likely to report COVID-19 symptoms (66%) than were those with Omicron infections (49%). Among fully vaccinated children aged 5–11 years, VE against any symptomatic and asymptomatic Omicron infection 14–82 days (the longest interval after dose 2 in this age group) after receipt of dose 2 of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 31% (95% CI = 9%–48%), adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, health information, frequency of social contact, mask use, location, and local Virus circulation. Among adolescents aged 12–15 years, adjusted VE 14–149 days after dose 2 was 87% (95% CI = 49%–97%) against symptomatic and asymptomatic Delta infection and 59% (95% CI = 22%–79%) against Omicron infection. Fully vaccinated participants with Omicron infection spent an average of one half day less sick in bed than did unvaccinated participants with Omicron infection. All eligible children and adolescents should remain up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations.
  
  Suggested citation for this article: Fowlkes AL, Yoon SK, Lutrick K, et al. Effectiveness of 2-Dose BNT162b2 (Pfizer BioNTech) mRNA Vaccine in Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children Aged 5–11 Years and Adolescents Aged 12–15 Years — PROTECT Cohort, July 2021–February 2022. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. ePub: 11 March 2022.
  
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• Subjects:
  Adolescent BNT162 Vaccine Child CoronaVirus Infections/Prevention & Control COVID-19 Vaccines COVID-19/Prevention & Control SARS-CoV-2
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2022; v. 71 Early Release
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Name as Subject:
  Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine ; COMIRNATY
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• Volume:
  71
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ef0b2bc8f4fdd9fca903970ab06f98028059b78a304c125ed62a476dbed33da3d29bbaf6e4e7da8f9fa8cab7f552a671cccdc53105d0959a7d1413d27f3d623d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/115393/cdc_115393_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 378.93 KB ]