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. 2021 Oct 22;70(42):1483-1488.
doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7042e1.

Effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Vaccination Against COVID-19 Hospitalization Among Persons Aged 12-18 Years - United States, June-September 2021

Samantha M Olson, Margaret M Newhams, Natasha B Halasa, Ashley M Price, Julie A Boom, Leila C Sahni, Katherine Irby, Tracie C Walker, Stephanie P Schwartz, Pia S Pannaraj, Aline B Maddux, Tamara T Bradford, Ryan A Nofziger, Benjamin J Boutselis, Melissa L Cullimore, Elizabeth H Mack, Jennifer E Schuster, Shira J Gertz, Natalie Z Cvijanovich, Michele Kong, Melissa A Cameron, Mary A Staat, Emily R Levy, Brandon M Chatani, Kathleen Chiotos, Laura D Zambrano, Angela P Campbell, Manish M Patel, Adrienne G Randolph; Overcoming COVID-19 Investigators
Collaborators, Affiliations

Effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Vaccination Against COVID-19 Hospitalization Among Persons Aged 12-18 Years - United States, June-September 2021

Samantha M Olson et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. .

Abstract

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized for use in children and adolescents aged 12-15 years and is licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for persons aged ≥16 (1). A randomized placebo-controlled trial demonstrated an efficacy of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 75.3%-100%) in preventing outpatient COVID-19 in persons aged 12-15 years (2); however, data among adolescents on vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 in real-world settings are limited, especially among hospitalized patients. In early September 2021, U.S. pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations reached the highest level during the pandemic (3,4). In a test-negative, case-control study at 19 pediatric hospitals in 16 states during June 1-September 30, 2021, the effectiveness of 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 hospitalization was assessed among children and adolescents aged 12-18 years. Among 464 hospitalized persons aged 12-18 years (179 case-patients and 285 controls), the median age was 15 years, 72% had at least one underlying condition, including obesity, and 68% attended in-person school. Effectiveness of 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 hospitalization was 93% (95% CI = 83%-97%), during the period when B.1.617.2 (Delta) was the predominant variant. This evaluation demonstrated that 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are highly effective at preventing COVID-19 hospitalization among persons aged 12-18 years and reinforces the importance of vaccination to protect U.S. youths against severe COVID-19.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Natasha B. Halasa reports grants from Sanofi and Quidel outside of the submitted work. Jennifer E. Schuster reports grants from Merck outside of the submitted work. Pia S. Pannaraj reports grants from AstraZeneca and Pfizer outside of the submitted work, and personal fees from Seqirus and Nestle outside of the submitted work. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

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