Impact and effectiveness of Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) COVID-19 vaccine
among adolescents (age 12yr to 15yrs), against SARS-COV-2 infection
following a nationwide vaccination campaign: An observational study in
Qatar.
Abstract
Background: Following the worldwide mass vaccination to prevent
and protect the child population from the deadly virus, on 17th May
2021, the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Qatar launched the
BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine campaign among adolescents i.e., 12 to 15
years of age across region through all 27 health centers. We estimated
the safety and protective efficacy of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine
among the vaccinated and non-vaccinated adolescent population in Qatar.
Methods: A quantitative retrospective observational study
assessed the medical records of SARS-COV-2 positive adolescents (12-15
years) of all 27 Primary Healthcare Centres of PHCC. All data were
obtained during the second wave of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic from 17
th June 2021 to 17 th December 2021.
Results: The study data involved 1956 SARS-CoV-2 infection
(RTPCR positive) cases. Out of 1956 children, 20.55% were vaccinated
(n=402) and 79.45% were non-vaccinated (n=1554). The mean age for the
vaccinated group was 13.89 ± 0.93 and non-vaccinated group was 12.99 ±
0.93. The number of vaccinated participants 20.55% (n=402) of the total
sample size who contracted SARS-CoV-2 infections was significantly
lesser compared to the non-vaccinated population 79.45% (n=1554).
Incidence of the SARS-COV-2 infection was found to be statistically
significant among the vaccinated group who received 2 doses of
Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (p-value<0.001) rendering the vaccine
effectiveness against prevention of the SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Conclusion: In summary, our findings indicate that protection
of Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) COVID-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2
infections is satisfactory as only one-fifth of the total study
population contracted SARS-CoV-2 infections after the double dose
regimen. Our findings support the importance of maximizing vaccination
coverage for considering booster doses for adolescents to enhance
protection. Further studies will be needed to assess the duration of
protection and immune-prophylactic response and the need for booster
doses.