Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine 100% Efficacious in Children Aged 12 to 15

By Joe Elia

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and Richard Saitz, MD, MPH, FACP, DFASAM

A COVID-19 vaccine already in use among adults has shown "100% efficacy and robust antibody responses" in adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15, the manufacturers announced on Wednesday.

Pfizer-BioNTech offered "topline results" of a phase 3 trial in some 2300 adolescents without evidence of prior COVID-19 illness. The placebo group had 18 cases of COVID-19, compared with none in the vaccine group. In a news release, the companies say the results exceeded those found earlier among a group aged 16 to 25.

The BNT162b2 vaccine is available under emergency use authorization for people aged 16 and older. The companies say they will file an amendment with U.S. and European drug agencies, seeking authorization for use in the younger group.