Tipsheet

Pfizer Vaccine Only 12 Percent Effective Against Omicron For Kids 5-11

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  March 02, 2022 8:00 AM

A study conducted by the New York State Department of Health — that has yet to undergo peer review — found that Pfizer's mRNA vaccine was only 12 percent effective at protecting kids aged 7 through 11 from the Omicron wave. 

Here's more on what researchers found (via CNBC):

The New York State Department of Health found that the effectiveness of Pfizer’s vaccine against Covid infection plummeted from 68% to 12% for kids in that age group during the omicron surge from Dec. 13 through Jan 24. Protection against hospitalization dropped from 100% to 48% during the same period.

The team of public health officials who conducted the study said the dramatic drop in vaccine effectiveness among children 5 to 11 years old was likely due to the lower dosage they received. Kids in this age group are given two 10-microgram shots, while children aged 12 to 17 receive 30-microgram shots.

The researchers also compared 11 and 12 year olds during the weekend ended Jan. 30. They found the vaccine effectiveness plunged to 11% for the low-dosage group but offered 67% protection to the group that received the higher dose.

The news of the Pfizer vaccine's lackluster performance in kids comes after the Food and Drug Administration tried to speed along Pfizer's vaccine for even younger children six months to four years old. Those plans were halted when initial data based on kids' immune response after two doses missed expectations, but there's another clinical trial set to conclude in April that's looking at the potential of giving the youngest age groups three doses of vaccine. 

As Katie pointed out on Twitter, parents who wanted to wait to see more data before getting their kids vaccinated were treated worse than Michael Jackson when he dangled his daughter over a hotel balcony. Yet their caution — as well as others who chose not to get vaccinated — is more vindicated now that the vaccine sold as a silver bullet to stop COVID has been found in the New York State study to be less effective than the average effective rate (19 to 60 percent) for a flu shot over the last decade.