Study: Efficacy of COVID vaccine falls in children aged 5-11

A pre-print study from the State University of New York says by seven weeks after their Pfizer vaccination, protection against hospitalization for children 5-11 plunged from 100% to just under 50%.

"Even being fully vaccinated does not protect us as well as we had hoped against Omicron," said Yale Medicine infectious disease specialist Dr. Richard Martinello.

Martinello says the data is still heavily in favor of getting the shot. He says some protection is better than none at all, and many Connecticut children aged 5-11 still have not gotten the shot.

"We're only seeing about 25% of kids who are eligible for this vaccination having received it," said Martinello.

Martinello says no one measure is ever 100% effective, which is why layered protections are so important.

"Getting vaccinated, wearing a mask, those are really the most helpful things that we can do to keep safe and really return our lives to normal," he said.

The new data on falling vaccine efficacy comes as many districts across the state and the country move to a mask-optional model in schools. Martinello still recommends masking up.

"Masks are safe to use, we have not seen children coming in with any complications related to mask use, and we know that they're effective," he said.

The CDC study released Wednesday found that fully vaccinated children aged 5-11 were 46% less likely to end up in the hospital with COVID-19.

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