Pfizer vaccine safe in small study of very sick kids

In adolescents with serious neurological conditions, the side effects of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are likely to be mild to moderate and clear up quickly, a small study suggests.

The 27 children in the study, ages 12 to 15, had muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, or other neurological diseases, plus other conditions such as heart defects and immune deficiency – all of which put them at very high risk for severe COVID-19.

They would not have been included in the main trials of the vaccine because they were too sick, the researchers said. Eleven children had averse events after the first or second dose, such as mild rash, fever, headache, gastrointestinal upset, difficulty sleeping, and low blood sugar. Most problems resolved within 72 hours, and the rest cleared up within a week, according to a report published on Thursday in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Although the study involved only a few children, “these data are especially important as they are representative of the children who are most likely to benefit from vaccination, and parents and clinicians may have concerns regarding an increased risk of unexpected events,” the authors said.