Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine greatly reduces risk of Omicron infection among children: CDC

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine greatly reduced the risk of Omicron infection among children aged 5 to 15, according to a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday.

Children and adolescents aged 5 to 15 were tested for SARS-CoV-2 weekly, irrespective of symptoms, during July 2021 to February 2022, according to the CDC.

Approximately one half of Omicron infections in unvaccinated children and adolescents were asymptomatic, according to the CDC.

Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine reduced the risk of Omicron infection by 31 percent among children aged 5 to 11, and by 59 percent among adolescents aged 12 to 15, according to the CDC study.

The Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine was recommended by CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for adolescents aged 12 to 15 on May 12 last year, and for children aged 5 to 11 years on Nov. 2.