COVID vaccine for children less effective against Omicron, but booster helps, study finds
CBSN
The protection offered by two doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in children declined during the Omicron wave, but a booster shot helped, suggests a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examining data from health care facilities across 10 states.
The study's authors chalked up much of the drop in protection to the Omicron variant. The effectiveness of two Pfizer shots in curbing the risk of E.R. or urgent care visits with COVID-19 declined to 46% among children ages 5 to 11; 45% among 12- to 15-year-olds, and 34% among 16- and 17-year-olds during the wave.
Vaccine effectiveness was lowest among children 12 and older who were vaccinated at least five months earlier but had not received a booster shot; for them, the study found "no significant protection" during Omicron. But protection for children with a third dose was 81% during Omicron.
