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Review
. 2022 Dec 30;11(1):87.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines11010087.

Safety, Efficacy, and Immunogenicity of Varying Types of COVID-19 Vaccines in Children Younger Than 18 Years: An Update of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Yan Tian  1   2   3   4   5 , Long Chen  1   2   3   4   5 , Yuan Shi  1   2   3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Safety, Efficacy, and Immunogenicity of Varying Types of COVID-19 Vaccines in Children Younger Than 18 Years: An Update of Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Yan Tian et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

Vaccination is one of the most effective measures for children as the epidemic progresses. However, there is a significant research gap in the meta-analysis of the COVID-19 vaccines for children younger than 18 years. This study is a comprehensive review of different COVID-19 vaccines. Published articles were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Twelve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of COVID-19 vaccines were included in the review until 21 October 2022. Most local and systemic adverse reactions were predominantly mild to moderate in severity and disappeared quickly after different types of vaccines. The subunit vaccine had the highest safety. The significant risk was lower in the subunit vaccine group after the initial (RR 1.66, 95% CI 1.26-2.17, p = 0.0003) and booster vaccination (RR 1.40, 95% CI 1.02-1.92, p = 0.04). Younger children had a more outstanding safety profile in the mRNA and inactivated vaccine groups. The humoral immune response was proportional to the number of doses in the inactivated and the adenovirus vaccine groups, and the strength of immunogenicity was negatively correlated with age in the inactivated vaccine. The mRNA and the subunit vaccines provided satisfactory prevention against COVID-19, especially seven days after the booster dose. However, more research and longer-term follow-up are needed to assess the duration of immune responses, efficacy, and safety.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine; SARS-CoV-2; adverse reactions; children; efficacy; immunogenicity; meta-analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study identification and selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk of bias graph for included RCTs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Risk of bias summary for included RCTs (the green color and special symbol “+” are represented a low risk of bias, and the yellow color and special symbol “?” are represented an unclear risk of bias).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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