CDC says Pfizer’s Covid vaccine is 93% effective at reducing hospitalization in teens aged 12-18

Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization in teenagers, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Officials say the two-dose vaccine was 93 percent effective at preventing Americans between ages 12 and 18 from being hospitalized with the virus.

Additionally, of the 77 adolescents who fell severely ill, none who were fully vaccinated were admitted to intensive are units (ICUs) or placed on mechanical ventilation.

However, parents have been split evenly over whether or not to inoculate children because under-18s tend to have mild cases of the virus and they make up less than 0.1 percent of all Covid deaths in the U.S.  

A new CDC report looked at 464 hospitalized patients aged 12 and 18, of whom 179 tested positive for COVID-19. Of the 77 Covid patients admitted to the ICU, all of them were unvaccinated. Pictured: Chelsea Shellenbarger  holds the hand of her son, Grant Shellenbarger. 12, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, gets a COVID-19 vaccine, May 2021

Researchers say the findings shows the Pfizer vaccine is 93% effective at preventing hospitalization in teenagers. Pictured: A vial of Pfizer vaccine sits on a tray in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 2021

Researchers say the findings shows the Pfizer vaccine is 93% effective at preventing hospitalization in teenagers. Pictured: A vial of Pfizer vaccine sits on a tray in Hanoi, Vietnam, October 2021

Currently, Pfizer’s Covid vaccine is fully approved for those aged 16 and older and authorized for emergency use in teens between ages 12 and 15.

Although the company’s trial in teens showed 100 efficacy against infection compared to a placebo, limited data is available on efficacy against hospitalization, especially in real-world settings.

For the report, published on Tuesday, the CDC gathered data from 19 pediatric hospital from 16 states across the country between June 1 and September 30.

During this time period, the highly infectious Delta variant was the dominant strain in the U.S.

Of the 464 hospitalized patients aged 12 and 18 who were examined for the study, 179 tested positive for COVID-19 and 285 did not.

Six patients in the COVID-19 group were fully vaccinated as were 93 in the control group.    

A total of 72 percent of all patients had at least one underlying condition, such as obesity, asthma and diabetes, and 68 percent attended in-person school.

Of the COVID-19 patients, 77 – or about 43 percent – were admitted to ICUs – all of whom were unvaccinated.

A total of 21 were placed on invasive mechanical ventilation and 29 were placed on life support. What’s more, two patients died. 

Among the 169 teen Covid patients with hospital discharge data, the median length of stay at the hospital was five days for unvaccinated patients and three days for vaccinated patients.

VE against COVID-19 hospitalization was 93 percent effective against hospitalization in 12-to-18-year-olds.

The authors also broke down efficacy by age groups and said the vaccine was 91 percent effective at preventing hospitalization in 12-to-15-year-olds and 94 in 16-to-18-year-olds.

‘This evaluation demonstrated that two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were highly effective in preventing COVID-19 hospitalization among persons aged 12–18 years,’ the report read.

‘Findings reinforce the importance of vaccination to protect U.S. youths against severe COVID.’

A poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation that about three in 10 parents in each age group said heir child vaccinated 'right away' while about a quarter want to 'wait and see'

A poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation that about three in 10 parents in each age group said heir child vaccinated ‘right away’ while about a quarter want to ‘wait and see’

The vaccines have been proven to be highly effective in adults and teenagers, but many parents are not enthusiastic about vaccinating their children.

In April 2021 poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, parents were asked if they would get their child immunized once a COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and available for their child’s age group.

Three in 10 parents – 29 percent – of children under 18 said they would get their child vaccinated ‘right away’ while 15 percent said they only plan to vaccinate their children if the school requires it and 19 percent said their child will definitely not be getting vaccinated.

A July 2021 survey, conducted by CS Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at Michigan Medicine last month, found that 39 percent of parents said their children already gotten a coronavirus shot.

However, 40 percent of parents also said it was ‘unlikely’ that their children would be getting vaccinated.’

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than five million children have been infected by COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

However, most pediatric cases are not severe and virus-related fatalities among children are rare, with pediatric deaths making up just 0.1 percent of all COVID-19 deaths.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk