Osman, K.; Mundodan, J.; Chowdhury, J.; Ravi, R.; Baaboura, R.; Albuquerque, J.; Riaz, B.; Emran, R.Y.; Batoul, K.; Esameldin, A.M.; Al Tabatabaee, Z.; Khogali, H.; Albayat, S. Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Vaccine Protection among Children and Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years against COVID-19 Infection in Qatar. Vaccines2023, 11, 1522.
Osman, K.; Mundodan, J.; Chowdhury, J.; Ravi, R.; Baaboura, R.; Albuquerque, J.; Riaz, B.; Emran, R.Y.; Batoul, K.; Esameldin, A.M.; Al Tabatabaee, Z.; Khogali, H.; Albayat, S. Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Vaccine Protection among Children and Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years against COVID-19 Infection in Qatar. Vaccines 2023, 11, 1522.
Osman, K.; Mundodan, J.; Chowdhury, J.; Ravi, R.; Baaboura, R.; Albuquerque, J.; Riaz, B.; Emran, R.Y.; Batoul, K.; Esameldin, A.M.; Al Tabatabaee, Z.; Khogali, H.; Albayat, S. Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Vaccine Protection among Children and Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years against COVID-19 Infection in Qatar. Vaccines2023, 11, 1522.
Osman, K.; Mundodan, J.; Chowdhury, J.; Ravi, R.; Baaboura, R.; Albuquerque, J.; Riaz, B.; Emran, R.Y.; Batoul, K.; Esameldin, A.M.; Al Tabatabaee, Z.; Khogali, H.; Albayat, S. Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA Vaccine Protection among Children and Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years against COVID-19 Infection in Qatar. Vaccines 2023, 11, 1522.
Abstract
Qatar experienced five SARS-CoV-2 waves dominated sequentially by the original virus, Alpha, Beta, Omicron BA.1 and BA.2, and Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, in addition to a prolonged low-incidence phase dominated by the Delta variant. The two-dose primary series of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) COVID-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection has been approved for use in 10µg formulations among children and adolescents aged 12-17 years as of May 16, 2021. This study aimed at estimating the effectiveness of the 30µg BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine against the pre-Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and adolescents aged 12-17 years residing in Qatar. A test-negative matched case-control study was conducted where any child or adolescent aged 12-17 years who had been tested for SARS-CoV-2, RT-PCR tests performed on nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs, as part of contact tracing, between June and November 2021 and eligible to receive the BNT162b2 vaccine as per the national guidelines. Data regarding 14,161 children/adolescents meeting inclusion-exclusion criteria were retrieved from the national Surveillance and Vaccine Electronic System (SAVES). Of the total, 3.1% (444) were positive for SARSCoV-2. More than half (55.96%) were vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Amongst those immunized with two doses, 1.2% tested positive for SARS CoV2, while 5.6% amongst the unvaccinated tested positive. The vaccine effectiveness was calculated to be 79%. Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine provides protection from COVID-19 infection for children/adolescents, hence it is crucial to ensure they receive the recommended vaccines.
Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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