Pfizer COVID shots appear 73% effective in children under 5

A vial of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years old is seen June 21, 2022, at Montefiore Medical Group in the Bronx borough of New York. New data from Pfizer and BioNTech show their tot-sized COVID-19 vaccine was 73% effective in protecting children younger than 5 as omicron spread in the spring. Vaccinations for babies, toddlers and preschoolers opened in the U.S. in June after months of delay. Pfizer's three-dose version was authorized with only preliminary effectiveness data — evidence the company updated on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) A vial of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months through 4 years old is seen June 21, 2022, at Montefiore Medical Group in the Bronx borough of New York. New data from Pfizer and BioNTech show their tot-sized COVID-19 vaccine was 73% effective in protecting children younger than 5 as omicron spread in the spring. Vaccinations for babies, toddlers and preschoolers opened in the U.S. in June after months of delay. Pfizer's three-dose version was authorized with only preliminary effectiveness data — evidence the company updated on Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

By Associated Press August 23, 2022 2 min read

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was 73% effective in protecting children younger than 5 as omicron spread in the spring, the company announced Tuesday.

Vaccinations for babies, toddlers and preschoolers opened in the U.S. in June after months of delay. Only about 6% of youngsters ages 6 months through 4 years had gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-August, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Health authorities authorized tot-sized vaccine doses made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech based on a study showing they were safe and produced high levels of virus-fighting antibodies. But there was only preliminary data on how that translated into effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19.

The new update analyzed COVID-19 diagnoses between March and June in Pfizer’s ongoing study of the three-dose vaccine. There were 21 COVID-19 cases among the 351 tots who got dummy shots — compared to just 13 among the 794 youngsters given three vaccine doses.

The child cases primarily were caused by the BA.2 omicron version that was circulating at the time. Today, another omicron relative, BA.5, is causing most COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and much of the world.