In a new study, researchers found that the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is 100% effective in preventing infections in 12-15-year-olds.
The vaccine is currently approved for emergency use in people 16 and older.
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Rochester and elsewhere.
The team has been involved in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine clinical trials in adults since May 2020 when volunteers in Rochester were among the first in the nation to receive the then-experimental vaccine.
The results reported today came from a clinical trial that included 2,260 adolescents 12 to 15 years of age.
During the study, 18 cases of COVID-19 were observed in the placebo group, versus none in the vaccinated group.
The study also showed the vaccine elicited a strong immune response and was safe and well-tolerated, with side effects that were consistent with those reported in persons 16 to 25 years of age.
The companies said they would soon submit the data to the Food and Drug Administration as an amendment to the agency’s prior Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccine.
The team says the finding is very encouraging and appears to mirror the findings in adults, which shows this is a safe and very efficacious vaccine.
New vaccines are typically evaluated in descending age groups, so this study represents a critical first step to expand eventual use into children and infants.
These results are a great start in ensuring the public has access to a safe and effective pediatric vaccine.
The researchers are optimistic that further trials on younger age groups will show similarly strong data.
Pfizer and BioNTech have started clinical trials of its vaccine in children age 5 to 10 and will expand to lower age groups in the coming months.
One researcher of the study is Ann Falsey, M.D., professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases.
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