The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 is 100% effective in adolescents aged 12 to 15, according to the results of a clinical trial, the two laboratories announced this Wednesday, March 31, which hope that the vaccination of this age group will start before the next school year.
Read also: Covid-19: should children be vaccinated?
Phase 3 trials involving 2,260 adolescents in the United States "
have demonstrated 100% efficacy and robust antibody responses
," the companies said in a statement.
Pfizer and BioNTech will now submit this data to various regulatory authorities around the world "
in the hope of starting to vaccinate this age group before the start of the next school year
", said in the press release Albert Bourla, CEO of the American pharmaceutical giant.
The CEO of the German laboratory BioNTech, Ugur Sahin, considers that the results for 12-15 year olds are "
very encouraging given the trends observed in recent weeks concerning the spread.
Of the British variant of the virus.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, based on innovative messenger RNA technology, was the first vaccine against Covid-19 approved in the West at the end of 2020. The United States and the European Union have both authorized its use for people aged 16 and over.
It has since been used in millions of adults in over 65 countries.
A real-life study of 1.2 million people in Israel found it to be 94% effective.
Children are less exposed to severe cases of the disease, while transmitting it less for the youngest of them (under 10 years).
Their vaccination has therefore not been a priority for the moment.
Last week, BioNTech and Pfizer launched clinical studies in children, on a first group aged 5 to 11 years.
A younger cohort of children aged 2 to 5 is expected to receive their first dose next week as part of the study which will also cover children aged 6 months to 2 years.
BioNTech said Tuesday, March 30, that it expects to manufacture 2.5 billion doses of its vaccine this year, 25% more than initially forecast.
