How the spread of COVID could be hindered if Pfizer’s vaccine report of ‘100% efficacy’ in adolescents gets approval
On Wednesday Pfizer announced that clinical trials for its COVID-19 vaccine "demonstrated 100 percent efficacy and robust antibody responses" in adolescents ages 12-15.
"If we can get ahead of the virus and get more and more people vaccinated I think this will be really helpful," said Loma Linda University Children's Hospital Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Maulin Soneji.
Dr. Soneji said it was 'exciting' news to see such a high level of protection, but he also added that the study was relatively small compared to the reality of having vaccines distributed among the youth nationwide.
"Would I suggest that after every child is vaccinated, and no child will get COVID? I wouldn’t suggest that, it’s possible but it’s going to be very small which is very exciting," Dr. Soneji said.
The phase 3 trial included 2,260 participants in the United States between the ages of 12 and 15. According to Pfizer and vaccine partner, BioNTech, there were a total of 18 coronavirus cases in kids who received a placebo compared to no cases in those who received the vaccine.
The company's CEO announced that they plan to submit the data to the Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization expanding to the younger group.
"I think it’s very helpful for us to try to get to herd immunity. The level of which we can sort of hopefully stop the spread of this virus, we don’t know how much we need to get to but we’re probably going to need to have some children involved in being vaccinated against this virus to get there," said Dr. Soneji.
"I really wouldn’t want my children or grandchildren to receive a shot," said Palm Desert resident and grandmother of 7, Jane Bannister.
Many parents and grandparents had mixed reaction to whether they would want their kids and grandkids vaccinated. Bannister told News Channel 3 that she would like to see more testing done over a longer period of time before having her grandchildren get vaccinated.
"I believe in the science and they’ve done the appropriate tests then it seems like its great news. We’re planning on traveling this summer and we booked some tickets so this will increase my level of comfort and security in us traveling and being in an airplane and hotels," said Palm Desert resident and the mother of a 14 and 16 year-old, Andria Spencer.
"I’m unsure to be honest, I’m getting the vaccine, I’m getting Moderna on Saturday, but a lot of the kids don’t seem to be hugely affected so I'd like to see a little bit more analytical research on it," said mother and Woodland Hills resident, Bernie Barlow.
"I would, definitely. I just think it would be safer for the kids returning to school and maybe reducing mask wear in schools," said mother and Coachella Valley resident, Katherina Pokorny.
"It’s everybody’s choice but I think obviously if it’s going to bring people back to normalcy and especially for kids, said valley resident, Dustin McGee.
Over the course of the pandemic, fewer children and teenagers have contracted the virus compared to adults, but Dr. Soneji said kids are not exempt from showing severe symptoms- it's just not as common.
With the possibility of adolescents being vaccinated, Dr. Soneji said that could lead to more reopening possibilities.
"I think this is going to be really encouraging for high schools and even middle school, junior high because this is down to 12 years of age. We know that from other studies, teenagers in particular and these preteens, they tend to spread the virus sort of like adults do and so if we can vaccinate them this can hopefully add an additional level of protection to the teachers, who also have hopefully been vaccinated already."
As of Wednesday, Pfizer had not announced when vaccines could be available to kids, likely because the company still needed to go through the approval process.
