Pfizer vaccine highly effective against Delta variant in teenagers in Israel: study

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JERUSALEM – The Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in preventing infection and symptomatic Delta variant disease among youth ages 12 to 18, research conducted in Israel shows.

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The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, will likely provide further assurance that the vaccine is effective against the variant among younger people, as the US drug watchdog considers authorizing the use of the vaccine. in children up to five years of age.

The study found that the estimated effectiveness of the vaccine against documented COVID-19 infection in adolescents was 90% and 93% against symptomatic COVID-19, on days seven to 21 after the second dose.

Israel’s Clalit health maintenance organization and Harvard University researchers reviewed data from 94,354 vaccine recipients ages 12 to 18 who were matched with an identical number of unvaccinated adolescents of the same age group.

The research was carried out between June and September, when the Delta variant was the main strain in Israel.

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In a statement late Wednesday, Clalit said the study was one of the largest peer-reviewed evaluations conducted among the age group on the effectiveness of the Delta variant vaccine.

Earlier this week, an analysis published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the Pfizer Inc / BioNTech vaccine was 93% effective in preventing hospitalizations among people ages 12 to 18. years.

The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is licensed for children up to 12 years of age, and companies are seeking further approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for use in children as young as five years old.

An FDA advisory panel is expected to evaluate the data on young children later this month.

In England, the spread of COVID-19 among children is driving an increase in cases and worrying some scientists that vaccines are being rolled out in schools too slowly.