The effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for children waned quickly during the Omicron surge, but was still protective against severe disease, according to new data from the New York State Department of Health.
Within one month of being fully vaccinated, effectiveness of the Pfizer shots against infection caused by the Omicron variant fell from 68% to just 12% in the youngest children eligible to get the shots: those 5 to 11 years old. As Omicron cases fall, doctors anxiously await possible surge of dangerous child complication MIS-C Effectiveness against hospitalization in that age group was higher but also dropped substantially, falling from 100% in early December to just 48% by the end of January.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been collecting its own data on vaccine effectiveness in children and is expected to release it soon."Pfizer and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines continue to offer high levels of protection against severe illness, hospitalization, and deaths in all age groups, despite decreased effectiveness against infection alone during the Omicron wave," the agency said in a statement.
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