Health officials in New York, USA, have released findings that the effect of preventing infection is significantly reduced in children aged 5 to 11 years after vaccination with the new coronavirus vaccine.
On the 28th, a research team including the health authorities of New York State released the results of investigating the effect of preventing infection and hospitalization for children aged 5 to 17 years who completed vaccination with the new coronavirus vaccine of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
According to this, the effect of preventing infection was 66% in mid-December last year when Omicron strains became mainstream for 12 to 17 years old, and 51% in late January, which was a relatively small decrease. , From 5 to 11 years old, it dropped significantly from 68% to 12% in the same period.
The researchers say that the reason why the effect of preventing infection was significantly reduced between the ages of 5 and 11 may be due to the fact that the amount of components of the vaccine to be inoculated is as low as one-third that of those over 12 years old. There is.
In addition, the effect of preventing hospitalization was 73% for 12 to 17 years old and 48% for 5 to 11 years old as of late January, but since the number of children who become severely ill is small, accurate analysis It is said that there is not enough data to do.
Although the findings are before third-party verification, experts have decided to change the amount of inoculation ingredients or give additional inoculations to children of this age in the future. It should be considered.
CDC "Highly effective in preventing hospitalization" Continued vaccination recommended
The US CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on the 1st the results of investigating the effects of Pfizer's new coronavirus vaccine on children aged 5 to 17 years.
The survey was conducted from the beginning of April to the end of January last year, targeting approximately 40,000 people who were infected with the new coronavirus at medical institutions throughout the United States and were treated or hospitalized at the emergency counter.
According to this, in children who completed two vaccinations, the effect of preventing hospitalization was 74% for children aged 5 to 11 years and 73% to 94% for children aged 12 years and older depending on the time of vaccination.
The CDC continues to recommend vaccination in this age group, saying that "although the effect tends to decrease over time, it is highly effective in preventing hospitalization."
Specially Appointed Professor Nakayama It is meaningful to prevent the disease from becoming severe even if the effect is reduced.
Kitasato University, a pediatrician who is familiar with the vaccine, said that the new coronavirus vaccine for 5 to 11 years old was less effective when the Omicron strain spread in New York, USA. Professor Tetsuo Nakayama said, "Pfizer's vaccine is one-third the amount of vaccine given to people under the age of 11 compared to those over the age of 12. The physique does not change much between the ages of 11 and 12, but the amount. It is expected that reducing the dose will reduce the effect and shorten the duration of immunity. "
On the other hand, Professor Nakayama said, "The original purpose of the vaccine is to prevent the aggravation of the vaccine, and the effect of suppressing hospitalization is at least about 50%, which is a reasonable effect. It is better to have a memory of immunity with a vaccine than with a vaccine. "
On that basis, it is said that how to decide the amount to inoculate to children remains an issue. "It is necessary to consider what and how much to reduce compared to the amount to inoculate to adults. Not only age but also physique etc. It is necessary to carefully consider whether to include it or whether to reduce the amount to a younger age. "