While Bobby Jr. peddles fake science, real science reinforces value of vaccine
Two articles on two new studies
Updated 2024-25 COVID vaccine cut emergency visits among
kids, study suggests
Laine
Bergeson
A new analysis from the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that the 2024-25 COVID-19
vaccine substantially reduced the risk of emergency department (ED) and urgent
care (UC) visits among US children and adolescents. The findings, published yesterday
in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, draw on data from more
than 98,000 pediatric cases in nine states.
Researchers looked at data from electronic health records to
assess how well the updated vaccines, which target the Omicron JN.1 and
JN.1-derived sublineages, protected against COVID-related ED and UC visits from
August 2024 to September 2025. The test-negative, case-control study measured
the added protection provided by the 2024-25 dose in children and adolescents,
many of whom already had some immunity from prior infection, previous
vaccination, or both.
76% effectiveness against severe disease in young kids
Among children aged 9 months to 4 years, vaccine
effectiveness (VE) against COVID-associated ED/UC visits was 76% during the
first 7 to 179 days after vaccination. Protection remained stable through 299
days.
These VE estimates are similar to or higher than those
observed in adults during the same season, and they exceed that reported in
young children during the 2023-24 season. According to the authors, the higher
2024-25 estimates might be related to different infection patterns compared
with previous seasons or fewer changes in circulating variants in
2024-25.
During the 2024-25 season, hospitalization rates among US
infants aged 6 to 11 months were higher than those of all adult age-groups
except those aged 65 years and older. These findings underscore the potential
benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in eligible infants, note the authors.
In children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years, the 2024-25
vaccines reduced the risk of an ED/UC visit by 56% during the first 7 to 179
days after vaccination. Protection declined slightly to 45% when the window was
extended from 7 to 299 days.