claim: A study showed a “weakened immune response in kids injected with Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot”; “The mRNA Covid jabs damage immune responses to other viruses in children”
evidence: What parents need to know about Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 [...] In a clinical trial, Pfizer assessed the immune response and the safety of their mRNA vaccine in kids 5 to 11. The trial included about 2,250 children, with two-thirds getting the shot and the other third receiving a placebo. [...] Pfizer assessed kids’ immune response to the vaccine by looking at antibody levels. The company compared the response in a group of 5- to 11-year-olds one month after the second shot with antibody levels seen in a group of 16- to 25-year-olds, who were part of the earlier and much larger clinical trial that studied the vaccine’s efficacy in tens of thousands of adults (SN: 10/4/20). There was no difference in the immune responses between the different groups, even though the younger children received a smaller dose, the FDA reported in their review of Pfizer’s trial data. Since the immune response was similar between the two groups, the protection against COVID-19 offered by the vaccine for each group should also be similar.