Pfizer Says Its COVID-19 Vaccine Provides Full Protection to Adolescents

MONDAY, Nov. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Pfizer Inc. said Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine provides long-term protection in youth ages 12 to 15 years, according to data from a company clinical trial that included more than 2,000 participants.

In a company clinical trial that included more than 2,200 adolescents, getting two doses of the vaccine was 100 percent effective against COVID-19 from seven days to four months after the second shot, Pfizer said in a news release. There were 30 confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 cases in the trial, and all were in the placebo group.

In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted full approval of the vaccine for use in people aged 16 years and older. The vaccine has been granted emergency use authorization for youth ages 12 to 15 years, but Pfizer will submit these new data to the FDA as it seeks full approval for that age group.

“As the global health community works to increase the number of vaccinated people around the world, these additional data provide further confidence in our vaccine’s safety and effectiveness profile in adolescents,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said. “This is especially important as we see rates of COVID-19 climbing in this age group in some regions, while vaccine uptake has slowed.”

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