Pfizer Covid vaccine less effective among 5- to 11-year-olds

The Pfizer vaccine against Covid is significantly less effective among children ages 5 to 11 compared with adolescents and adults, according to the New York Times.

The findings are based on a December study in New York state of more than 365,000 children ages 5 to 11 and 852,000 children ages 12 to 17. The study showed that the Pfizer vaccine — the only one authorized for children in the 5-11 age group — prevents serious illness, but “offers virtually no protection against infection, even within a month after full immunization,” according to the newspaper.

“It’s disappointing, but not entirely surprising, given this is a vaccine developed in response to an earlier variant. It looks very distressing to see this rapid decline, but it’s again all against omicron,” said the lead author of the study, Eli Rosenberg, deputy director for science at the New York State Department of Health.

The study follows a December study showing that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine are ineffective among children ages 2-5. The drugmaker is continuing to research whether a third dose is necessary.