Association of Prior BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccination With Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children and Adolescents During Omicron Predominance

Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra, Amadea Britton, Nong Shang, et al

JAMA. Published online May 13, 2022. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.7493

Key Points

Question Does the estimated effectiveness of 2 doses of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection (based on the odds ratio for the association of prior vaccination and infection) wane rapidly among children and adolescents, as has been observed for adults?

Findings In a test-negative, case-control study conducted from December 2021 to February 2022 during Omicron variant predominance that included 121 952 tests from sites across the US, estimated vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection for children 5 to 11 years of age was 60.1% 2 to 4 weeks after dose 2 and 28.9% during month 2 after dose 2. Among adolescents 12 to 15 years of age, estimated vaccine effectiveness was 59.5% 2 to 4 weeks after dose 2 and 16.6% during month 2; estimated booster dose effectiveness in adolescents 2 to 6.5 weeks after the booster was 71.1%.

Meaning Among children and adolescents, estimated vaccine effectiveness for 2 doses of BNT162b2 against symptomatic infection decreased rapidly, and among adolescents increased after a booster dose.Abstract

Importance Efficacy of 2 doses of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) against COVID-19 was high in pediatric trials conducted before the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged. Among adults, estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 2 BNT162b2 doses against symptomatic Omicron infection was reduced compared with prior variants, waned rapidly, and increased with a booster.

Objective To evaluate the association of symptomatic infection with prior vaccination with BNT162b2 to estimate VE among children and adolescents during Omicron variant predominance.

Design, Setting, and Participants A test-negative, case-control analysis was conducted using data from 6897 pharmacy-based, drive-through SARS-CoV-2 testing sites across the US from a single pharmacy chain in the Increasing Community Access to Testing platform. This analysis included 74 208 tests from children 5 to 11 years of age and 47 744 tests from adolescents 12 to 15 years of age with COVID-19–like illness who underwent SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification testing from December 26, 2021, to February 21, 2022.

Exposures Two BNT162b2 doses 2 weeks or more before SARS-CoV-2 testing vs no vaccination for children; 2 or 3 doses 2 weeks or more before testing vs no vaccination for adolescents (who are recommended to receive a booster dose).

Main Outcomes and Measures Symptomatic infection. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the association of prior vaccination and symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was used to estimate VE: VE = (1 − OR) × 100%.

Results A total of 30 999 test-positive cases and 43 209 test-negative controls were included from children 5 to 11 years of age, as well as 22 273 test-positive cases and 25 471 test-negative controls from adolescents 12 to 15 years of age. The median age among those with included tests was 10 years (IQR, 7-13); 61 189 (50.2%) were female, 75 758 (70.1%) were White, and 29 034 (25.7%) were Hispanic/Latino. At 2 to 4 weeks after dose 2, among children, the adjusted OR was 0.40 (95% CI, 0.35-0.45; estimated VE, 60.1% [95% CI, 54.7%-64.8%]) and among adolescents, the OR was 0.40 (95% CI, 0.29-0.56; estimated VE, 59.5% [95% CI, 44.3%-70.6%]). During month 2 after dose 2, among children, the OR was 0.71 (95% CI, 0.67-0.76; estimated VE, 28.9% [95% CI, 24.5%-33.1%]) and among adolescents, the OR was 0.83 (95% CI, 0.76-0.92; estimated VE, 16.6% [95% CI, 8.1%-24.3%]). Among adolescents, the booster dose OR 2 to 6.5 weeks after the dose was 0.29 (95% CI, 0.24-0.35; estimated VE, 71.1% [95% CI, 65.5%-75.7%]).

Conclusions and Relevance Among children and adolescents, estimated VE for 2 doses of BNT162b2 against symptomatic infection was modest and decreased rapidly. Among adolescents, the estimated effectiveness increased after a booster dose.