BNT162b2 vaccine effectiveness 92 percent for teens ages 12 to 17

(HealthDay)—For adolescents ages 12 to 17 years, the effectiveness of full vaccination with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 92 percent against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), according to research published in the Dec. 31 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Karen Lutrick, Ph.D., from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and colleagues tested 243 adolescents ages 12 to 17 years for SARS-CoV-2 by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction each week, regardless of symptoms, and on onset of COVID-19-like illness during July 25 to Dec. 4, 2021, in a prospective cohort study conducted in Arizona. During the study, the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant was the predominant SARS-CoV-2 strain; 190, 30, and 66 adolescents contributed fully vaccinated person-time, partially vaccinated person-time, and unvaccinated person-time, respectively.

The researchers found that after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, health information, frequency of social contact, mask use, location, and local virus circulation, the estimated vaccine effectiveness of full Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination was 92 percent for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection.

“The vaccine effectiveness estimates described in this report for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in real-world conditions during the period of delta variant predominance corroborate and expand upon the vaccine effectiveness estimates from other recent studies in adolescents and reinforce previous findings that current vaccination efforts are resulting in substantial preventive benefits among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years,” the authors write.

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