ROANOKE, Va. – Good news for families hoping to vaccinate their younger members against COVID-19.
Pfizer/BioNTech says its vaccine is 100% effective and well-tolerated in children 12-15 years old.
In a trial of 2,260 participants ages 12 to 15 in the US, the vaccine-elicited strong antibody responses one month after the second dose. That exceeds data from those ages 16 to 25 in previous trials, Pfizer reported. The vaccine is currently authorized in the US for emergency use in people 16 and older.
Researchers observed 18 Covid-19 cases among the 1,129 participants who were given a placebo, and none among the 1,131 volunteers who got the vaccine. The data has yet to be peer-reviewed.
Carilion doctors call this a game-changer, saying this helps their push to get more children back into school safely and in our fight against the coronavirus.
“Younger children are less likely to get ill from COVID-19, but they are just as likely to transmit the virus to others including the variants which are more contagious and can cause more disease,” said Carilion Clinic’s Chairman of Medicine Dr. Paul Skolnik. “To get out of this pandemic we need everyone vaccinated eventually – from the youngest ages to the oldest ages.”
Pfizer plans to submit this data to the FDA soon to expand its emergency use authorization.