Safe COVID Vaccine for Children Ages 5 to 11, According to CDC

Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine caused mostly mild side effects in children ages 5 to 11, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Results of a survey involving 30,000 children who received two doses each show that adverse reactions were similar to those seen in clinical trials, reported CDC. The telephone survey, called v-safe, revealed that the most frequent reactions were pain at the injection site, fatigue and headache.

Another database of CDC, called the Vaccine Adverse Reaction Notification System (VAERS, for its acronym in English), revealed that, of the 8 million doses administered, there were 11 verified reports of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that has been observed in adolescents and young adults, especially in men who received a higher dose of the vaccine. Seven of the 11 recovered and four were improving, according to CDC.

Data is based on reports from parents, physicians, and vaccine manufacturers.

Almost 98% of the 4,249 adverse events recorded were not serious, including 975 product preparation problems and 675 when the wrong dose was administered.

Of the 100 serious adverse events recorded in VAERS, 29 reported fever, 21 suffered vomiting, and 15 had elevated troponin levels. Troponins are proteins found in heart muscle cells and are typically measured to assess chest pain or other symptoms of myocardial damage, according to the CDC.

Two deaths were reported in children with multiple chronic diseases. The CDC said an initial review did not show a link between the deaths and the vaccine.

The data of the CDC they examined reports sent from November 3 to December 19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed the vaccine from Pfizer and its partner BioNTech SE for children ages 5 to 11 in late October at a lower dose than that given to older youth and adults.