Study: Pfizer's Covid Vaccine Not As Effective In This Age Group

Health officials in New York found in a study that Pfizer's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was not as effective in children ages 5 to 11 compared to older groups.

There was evidence showing that two doses of the vaccine provided protection against severe disease in children within the 5 to 11 age group. It rapidly lost its efficacy to prevent initial infection, however, declining to 12% efficacy in January from nearly 70% in December, as reported by Reuters.

"These results highlight the potential need to study alternative vaccine dosing for children,” the authors of the study said, emphasizing the importance of keeping in place certain COVID-19 protocols such as mask-wearing.

The abrupt decline of efficacy in children could be due to the fact that they received a mere fraction of the dose given to adults, according to The New York Times. Eli Rosenburg, the deputy director for science at the New York State Department of Health who piloted the study, calls the findings “disappointing, but not surprising,” yet he is still advising the shot for children.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the COVID-19 booster shot’s efficacy also dropped after around four months, as efficacy rates fell to as low as 66% from around 90% after a third dose. CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund, however, stressed that the “COVID-19 vaccine boosters remain safe and continue to be highly effective against severe disease over time.”