COVID-19 Vaccine is 73% Effective in Children Under 5, Even with the positive efficacy data, the shots are likely having a very limited impact in the real world, given the small number of young children who have been vaccinated.
COVID-19 Vaccine is 73% Effective in Children Under 5, Even with the positive efficacy data, the shots are likely having a very limited impact in the real world, given the small number of young children who have been vaccinated., Pfizer on Tuesday reported that its COVID-19 vaccine for young children is 73% effective against symptomatic infection. The company said that the updated data reinforced the efficacy it previously reported for the three-dose series among children 6 months through 4 years of age “Building on the strong safety and immunogenicity data that led to [Food and Drug Administration] authorization of our COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years, we are pleased to share confirmatory evidence that a full course of vaccination helps protect against symptomatic disease, particularly during a time when the Omicron BA.2 strain was predominant,”
Even with the positive efficacy data, the shots are likely having a very limited impact in the real world, given the small number of young children who have been vaccinated. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the percentage of young children who have gotten the shots is far behind any other age group. Less than 6% of kids ages 2-4 and about 3% of kids under the age of 2 have gotten their first shot as of Aug. 18. The shots have been authorized for the age groups since June. It’s perhaps not surprising that the numbers are so small. Experts predicted the vaccination process for the age group would be slow. According to a poll from Kaiser Family Foundation in July, 7% of parents of children ages 6 months through 4 years old reported that their child has been vaccinated against COVID-19 while 10% said they will get them vaccinated “right away.” The majority of parents said they either would not get their kids vaccinated or only would do so if required. Pfizer’s updated data comes the day after it announced it applied for an emergency use authorization for its updated shot designed to combat the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 for everyone ages 12 and older. The company said Tuesday that it is developing an omicron-specific shot for young children as well.
Source: This news is originally published by usnews