Kids' COVID vaccinations less effective against omicron vs. delta, but helps ward off severe illness from both

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The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provided less protection against the omicron variant than the delta strain in children but did protect against severe illness from both variants, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine published Wednesday. 

The report stated that vaccination of 5- to 11-year-olds reduced hospitalizations by more than two-thirds during the omicron surge and protected against severe illness.

Researchers found that vaccination also reduced COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in adolescents aged 12-18 and protected strongly against severe illness, according to the study that was co-led by Dr. Adrienne Randolph at Boston Children’s Hospital along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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"The reason for a child to get a COVID-19 vaccine is to prevent severe complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection, including hospitalization," Randolph said in a news release. "This evidence shows that vaccination reduces this risk substantially in 5- to 11-year-olds. And while vaccination provided adolescents with lower protection against hospitalization with omicron versus delta, it prevented critical illness from both variants."

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The study looked at data obtained from 1,185 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 ranging from 5 to 18 years of age and 1,627 control patients of similar ages not diagnosed with COVID-19 in 31 pediatric hospitals in 23 states from July 2021 through February 2022.

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The researchers found that overall, 88% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated and 25% required life-supporting measures.

They delved further to find that 92% of the children ages 5-11 hospitalized with COVID-19, were unvaccinated. 16% of them were considered critically ill, and required life support interventions such as intubation. Of this group, 90% were unvaccinated, according to the study release.

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In the adolescent group aged 12-18 that were hospitalized with COVID-19 infections, 87% were unvaccinated. The study said 27% were critically ill and of those, 93% were unvaccinated. Two children died, the release said.

According to the study, two doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine were 68% effective in preventing hospitalization during omicron among the group of children 5-11 years old. The researchers said in the release that since this age group only recently became eligible for the vaccine, they could not efficiently calculate numbers of critical illness separately.

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The study authors also stated that in the 12-18-year-old group, vaccination was 92% effective against hospitalization with the delta variant while it dropped to 40% effectiveness against the omicron variant.

Despite the decline, the authors of the study said vaccination was 96% effective in preventing severe cases of the illness during the delta period and 79% during the wave of omicron.

New research is emerging about the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations on kids with regard to the delta and omicron variants. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images, File)

Vaccines are currently available for children and adolescents but many parents are still hesitant, the researchers said. As of March 16, only 57% of children 12-17 and 27% of 5- to 11-year-olds had received two vaccine doses, according to the report that cited CDC data gathered by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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"We hope our findings will help parents make the decision to vaccinate their children and teens against COVID-19," Randolph said in the release. "The benefits clearly outweigh the risks, as severe infections in childhood can have long-term consequences."