The Efficacy of Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines in Children and Adolescents: An In-depth Study

Finding Protection in Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines

A recent study has provided valuable insights into the role of bivalent COVID-19 vaccines in protecting children and adolescents from SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptomatic COVID-19. This research highlights the importance of continuing vaccination efforts for younger age groups, as it demonstrates the effectiveness of these vaccines in reducing the spread of the virus and the risk of developing severe symptoms.

Prevention of Disease and Severity of Symptoms

According to a study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 vaccination helps prevent the disease in children and adolescents. The study focused on the protective effect of the bivalent booster vaccine for both infection and symptomatic illness. The vaccine was found to be about 54 percent effective at preventing infection outright, and vaccinated children who caught COVID-19 were about 50 percent more likely to avoid severe symptoms. The vaccine demonstrated greater effectiveness in younger children, with an efficacy rate of about 60 percent in children aged 5-11, compared to about 48 percent in adolescents aged 12-17. Furthermore, children who previously had COVID-19 and were vaccinated with the bivalent booster were about 64 percent less likely to get infected or experience severe illness.

Effective Protection Across Age Groups

The bivalent COVID-19 vaccines study included 2,959 participants aged 5 to 17 years. The data demonstrated the benefit of the COVID-19 vaccine in this age group, emphasizing the importance of keeping all eligible children and adolescents up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations.

Substantial Benefits of Sequential Doses

Research from a group of U-M researchers, which evaluated 80 studies and 150 million observations, found that all sequential doses provided substantial benefit in terms of preventing hospitalization and death. This study supports the practice of periodically updating COVID-19 vaccines for currently circulating variants, and showed that the fall 2022 bivalent vaccine provided strong protection against hospitalization and death.

Reducing the Risk of Long COVID

Multiple recent studies suggest that getting vaccinated for COVID-19 helps reduce the risk of long COVID in both children and adults. Updated booster shots reduce the risk of hospitalization and death among older adults, with bivalent updated booster shots being roughly 72% effective against hospitalization and 68% effective against COVID-19 related death. The studies also suggest that the time of day when the vaccine is received may impact its effectiveness, indicating that it may be better to receive a COVID-19 vaccine during the day instead of the evening. Early evidence suggests that updated bivalent booster shots help protect against newer Omicron subvariants.