The Health Sciences Authority (HSA), in consultation with its Medicines Advisory Committee and Panel of Infectious Diseases Experts, has extended the interim authorisation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine to include use in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years on 18 May 2021.
Protection?
Further data from ongoing studies show that it is highly efficacious in adolescents with a vaccine efficacy rate of 100% compared to 95% in adults.
There is currently insufficient data on the vaccine efficacy against re-infection and asymptomatic infection, and the ongoing Phase III study is expected to generate more data to address these.
How?
2 doses 21 days apart
Safety?
Adolescents seem to react more strongly to the vaccine but there were no serious adverse effects in the 2000 patients studied.
Common reactions included: injection site pain, fatigue, headache, chills and fever.
There was a low rate of allergic reactions but since the study population was small, post-marketing surveillance is still continuing to monitor the incidence of adverse reactions.
If you are concerned about the vaccine or have any further questions please reach out to our team.
Dr Lim Hui Ling is the Medical Director of IMC and sees patients at our Jelita clinic. She has been with IMC for 18 years. Call 65 3163 4342 to book an appointment with Dr Lim.
