However, a booster shot helped, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It examines data from 10 states’ health care facilities.
Study authors attributed much of the decrease in protection to the Micron variant. Two Pfizer shots were effective in reducing the risk of E.R. Children aged 5-11 years old experienced a decline in their need for urgent care with COVID-19. This was compared to 45% of 12- to 15-years-olds and 34% for 16- and 17 year-olds.
Children 12 years and older who had been vaccinated at the least five months prior to receiving a booster shot but not yet received it were less effective. The study concluded that Omicron provided “no significant protection.” However, Omicron provided 81% protection for children who received a third dose.
Kristen Nordlund, a spokesperson for the CDC, stated in a statement that “new CDC vaccine effectiveness and surveillance data show COVID-19 vaccination in eligible kids and adolescents continues to provide protection against severe COVID-19 diseases including Omicron.”
Additional Data from the CDC Tuesday, which tracks rates of COVID-19 deaths and cases across 29 jurisdictions, also showed that the disease was less common among vaccinated children in the Omicron wave.
Nordlund stated that nine COVID-19-related deaths were reported in vaccinated children between April and January, but that 121 were reported in unvaccinated children.
Similar findings were also published Monday by New York state health officials as a preprint. This has not yet been peer reviewed. The Omicron wave saw a rapid decline in vaccine protection against infection among children aged 5-11 years.
The study’s authors suggested measures such as spacing the first and second doses out by up to 8 weeks. This was recently proposed by the CDC as a way to increase protection for children.
According to the most recent tally, around a third of 5-to-11-year-olds and more that two-thirds (12- to 17-years-old) have received at least one dose COVID-19 vaccine. 21% of vaccinated teens who were vaccinated in January received an additional shot after the agency approved boosters for Americans as young at 12.
“FDA has complete confidence in the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in Children 5-11 Years of Age and in the safety of the vaccine in preventing severe COVID-19 consequences, including hospitalizations and death,” Abby Capobianco, an FDA spokesperson, stated in a statement.
These new data echo the conclusions of Pfizer, BioNTech which decided late in 2013 to seek approval for a “three-dose vaccine approach for all ages”. The companies stated last month that they expect to have data from clinical trials regarding three-dose protection in April.
Capboianco stated that the agency is continuing to work closely alongside the company as they collect additional data from the ongoing clinical trial. This includes information on potential children’s need for additional doses.