May 17, 2021

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in Adolescents Aged 12–15 Years — United States, May 2021

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Vaccines and Immunity

Keywords (Tags): vaccination

• On May 12th, 2021, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made an interim recommendation for the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine among adolescents aged 12-15, following the expansion of the FDA Emergency Use Authorization age eligibility to include this age group. The ACIP considered evidence from a systematic review of published and unpublished evidence of benefits and harms, the importance of COVID-19 as a public health concern, and issues regarding resource use and patients’ and parents’ values and preferences. Evidence was primarily guided by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II/III clinical trial that found 100% efficacy in preventing symptomatic, laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adolescents aged 12–15 years without evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Wallace et al. (May 14, 2021). The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in Adolescents Aged 12–15 Years — United States, May 2021. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7020e1