Summarised by Centrist
A preprint observational study found that the Pfizer vaccine (known as the BNT162b2 vaccine) reduced the risk of COVID-related emergencies and hospitalisations in adolescents.
However, all observed incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis (types of heart inflammation) occurred only in vaccinated individuals. Researchers called these events rare and no deaths were reported.
The English study used 2021 and 2022 data from the OpenSAFELY-TPP database to analyse nearly 821,000 adolescents aged 12-15 years and over 283,000 children aged 5-11 years.
The data suggested that 27 out of every million vaccinated individuals developed myocarditis or pericarditis after the first dose, and 10 out of every million after the second dose.
For adolescents, after their first dose, the likelihood of testing positive for COVID was reduced by about 26% compared to those who were not vaccinated. The vaccine also led to a 40% reduction in COVID-related emergency visits and a 42% reduction in hospitalisations.
The second dose also decreased the chances of testing positive for COVID, but its impact on emergency visits and hospitalisations was less consistent.
The maximum hospital stay for those who experienced myocarditis or pericarditis was 2 days.
