COVID-19 vaccine decreased the chance of hospitalizations in youngsters throughout the Omicron interval

Outcomes of a brand new multicenter examine printed within the New England Journal of Medication discovered that vaccination with a major sequence of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine decreased the chance of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in youngsters ages 5–11 years by two-thirds throughout the Omicron interval.

Amongst adolescents ages 12–18 years who have been vaccinated with a major sequence of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, safety in opposition to COVID-19-associated hospitalization throughout the Omicron interval was decrease than throughout the Delta interval, just like what has been beforehand proven amongst adults. Ranges of safety in opposition to important COVID-19 requiring life-supporting interventions remained excessive in vaccinated adolescents throughout each the Delta and the Omicron durations.

Our examine outcomes are reassuring that COVID-19 vaccination in eligible youngsters and adolescents continues to guard in opposition to essentially the most extreme outcomes related to COVID-19, no matter variant kind. It’s troublesome to foretell whether or not the vaccine might be as efficient in opposition to the present subvariant of Omicron, however most certainly the extent of safety could be comparable. Our outcomes reinforce the significance of COVID-19 vaccination, together with receiving a booster dose for these ages 12 years and older, to guard in opposition to important sickness.”

Bria Coates, MD, Examine Co-Writer and Crucial Care Doctor, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Kids’s Hospital of Chicago

Coates can be an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern College Feinberg Faculty of Medication

In the course of the Omicron interval (December 19, 2021–February 17, 2022), vaccination decreased the chance of COVID-19-associated hospitalization by 68 p.c in youngsters ages 5–11 years. Vaccine effectiveness in opposition to any kind of COVID-19-associated hospitalization in adolescents ages 12–18 years who obtained a major sequence declined from 92 p.c throughout the Delta (July 1, 2021–December 18, 2021) interval to 40 p.c throughout the Omicron interval. Safety in opposition to COVID-19 requiring life-supporting interventions remained excessive for adolescents throughout Delta (96 p.c) and Omicron (79 p.c).

Because of the low numbers of hospitalized youngsters ages 5–11 years within the examine, researchers couldn’t analyze vaccine effectiveness by illness severity for this age group however will proceed to watch as these information are collected. Knowledge on this age group was not obtainable for the Delta interval, since youthful youngsters weren’t eligible for the vaccine at the moment.

Safety in opposition to hospitalization in adolescents throughout the Delta interval remained constant for greater than 6 months after receipt of a major sequence. Ranges of safety throughout Omicron, though decrease, additionally stayed constant over time after finishing the first sequence.

“This consistency in vaccine effectiveness throughout every variant means that the decline in safety amongst adolescents between the Delta and Omicron durations is perhaps as a result of the Omicron variant is extra more likely to escape management by the immune system, slightly than waning immunity since vaccination,” mentioned Dr. Coates, who is also the Crown Household Analysis Scholar in Developmental Biology. “Nonetheless, extra information are wanted to reply this query.”