Effectiveness of COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT162b2) mRNA vaccination in adolescents aged 12–17 years: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

The rapid emergence of COVID-19 variants of concern (VOCs) has hindered vaccine uptake. To inform policy, we investigated the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccination among adolescents against symptomatic and severe COVID-19 diseases using mostly real-world data (15 studies). We searched international databases until May 2022 and used Cochrane’s risk of bias tools for critical appraisal. Random effects models were used to examine overall vaccine effectiveness (VE) across studies (general inverse-variance) and the effect of circulating VOCs on VE (log relative ratio and VE). Meta-regression assessed the effect of age and time on VE (restricted-maximum likelihood). BNT162b2 VE against PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 was 82.7% (95%CI: 78.37–87.31%). VE was higher for severe (88%) than non-severe (35%) outcomes and declining over time improved following booster dose in omicron era [73%(95%CI:65–81%)]. Fully vaccinated adolescents are protected from COVID-19 circulating VOCs by BNT162b2 especially for the need of critical care or life support.