Two Doses of BNT162b2 Vaccine Protect Against MIS-C

TUESDAY, Jan. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Receipt of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is associated with a high level of protection against multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) among children aged 12 to 18 years, according to research published in the Jan. 7 early-release issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Laura D. Zambrano, Ph.D., from the CDC COVID-19 Response Team, and colleagues used a test-negative case-control design to assess the effectiveness of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine received ≥28 days before hospital admission in preventing MIS-C among hospitalized patients aged 12 to 18 years at 24 pediatric hospitals in 20 states during July 1 to Dec. 9, 2021. Patients with MIS-C were matched to test-negative controls with at least one COVID-19-like symptom and negative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 polymerase chain reaction assay or antigen-based assay results and syndrome-negative controls without COVID-19-like illness. A total of 102 MIS-C case patients and 181 hospitalized controls were included.

The researchers found that the estimated effectiveness of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 91 percent against MIS-C. Of the 102 MIS-C case patients, five were fully vaccinated and 97 were unvaccinated. All 38 MIS-C patients who required life support were unvaccinated.

"This analysis lends supportive evidence that vaccination of children and adolescents is highly protective against MIS-C and COVID-19 and underscores the importance of vaccination of all eligible children," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text