The COVID-19 Vaccine Is 73% Effective In Children Under The Age Of 5
Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : August 27, 2022The covid vaccine is a vaccination against coronavirus or the COVID-19 virus. It is not a cure for the disease and does not prevent people from getting sick. However, it may help reduce how severe symptoms occur.
The vaccine contains pieces of the virus that cause COVID-19. When injected under the skin, these pieces stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies fighting the virus.
If you have been exposed to the virus, then it’s best to get vaccinated. If you haven’t had the chance to be exposed, then you still need to take precautions to protect yourself from catching the virus.
In a clinical trial including children aged 6 months to 4 years old, the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by Pfizer Inc. showed effectiveness against the disease of 73.2%. These results reinforced the findings that led to the authorization of the shot for use in young children in June.
According To Pfizer, The COVID-19 Vaccine Is 73% Effective In Children Under The Age Of Five
According to a statement released by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE on Tuesday, the three-dose regimen was evaluated alongside placebo injections over the time period between March and June, when the BA.2 form of omicron was being widely disseminated.
And there were a total of 13 cases in a group of 794 children who had gotten the vaccination. In contrast, there were 21 cases within the group of 351 children who had received the placebo.
In the upcoming weeks, the firms intend to present the most recent data to the United States Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and any other relevant regulatory agencies. According to the statement, they are also working on developing a vaccine for children that will target the BA.4 and BA.5 omicron strains currently spreading to many people.
The efficacy of Pfizer-three-dose BioNTech’s vaccine against symptomatic COVID-19 (mostly omicron BA.2) in children aged 6-23 months appears to be much higher than that of Moderna’s two-shot vaccine, which had a 36.8% success rate. However, this merely proves the need for a third shot, as is the case in adults, if subsequent data are reliable.
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The effectiveness was substantially higher in children aged 2 to 4 years old (71.8% as opposed to 50.6%). We also note that Moderna’s statistics are based on a far greater number of participants. However, the trial follow-up duration for Pfizer-BioNTech appears to be shorter than that of Moderna, which indicates that more cases will accumulate over time.
Competitor Moderna Inc. produces a vaccination for infants and young children that requires two separate injections. This vaccination prevented cases of COVID in children younger than 2 years old at a rate of 51% and in children between the ages of 2 and 5 at a rate of 37%.
At 9:41 in the morning local time in New York, shares of Pfizer plummeted by 2.1%, while American depositary receipts issued by BioNTech decreased by 0.5%.
Despite persistent efforts to immunize young infants, most children under the age of 5 are still unprotected.
According to recently released federal statistics, about 941,000 children younger than five have gotten their initial dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. There are roughly 19.5 million children in the United States between the ages of 0 and 14. This amount represents less than 5% or about 4.8%.
Most children who have had at least one shot before age five are between the ages of 2 and 4, according to data that is split down by age group. About 682,000 children aged 2–4 have had their initial vaccination, but just 259,000 infants and toddlers have done so.
According to federal statistics, only roughly 29.6 million children under the age of 17 have received at least one vaccine. However, nearly 43.4 million youngsters who are eligible for vaccinations have not received any vaccines at all.
References:
🔵WebMD (2005-2022) Study Says Pfizer COVID Vaccine Wanes in Kids Ages 5 to 11 (Available Online):https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/covid-19-vaccine/news/20220301/pfizer-vaccine-wanes-in-kids
🔵The New England Journal Of Medicine (n.d) Evaluation of the BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine in Children 5 to 11 Years of Age (Available Online):https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2116298
With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.