Effectiveness of Monovalent and Bivalent mRNA Vaccines in Preventing COVID-19-Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters Among Children Aged 6 Months-5 Years – VISION Network, United States, July 2022-June 2023

Published in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Here is a link to the article.

Regenstrief Institute authors: Shaun Grannis, M.D., (affiliate scientist) Peter Embí, M.D., M.S.

This study assessed the effectiveness of monovalent and bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in children aged 6 months to 5 years, using data from the VISION Network between July 2022 and June 2023. Vaccine effectiveness (VE) was measured against emergency department or urgent care (ED/UC) visits for COVID-19-like illness.

Among children who received 2 doses of the monovalent Moderna vaccine, VE was 29% (95% CI: 12–42%). For those who received 3 doses of the monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, VE was 43% (95% CI: 17–61%).

Importantly, children who completed a primary series and received ≥1 bivalent dose had a VE of 80% (95% CI: 42–96%) against ED/UC encounters, highlighting significantly enhanced protection.

These findings support the continued recommendation for children aged 6 months to 5 years to stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations, including receiving bivalent vaccines as soon as they become eligible.

Authors

Ruth Link-Gelles, PhD, corresponding author,¹, Allison Avrich Ciesla, PhD,^1,2, Elizabeth A.K. Rowley, DrPH,³, Nicola P. Klein, M.D., PhD,⁴, Allison L. Naleway, PhD,⁵, Amanda B. Payne, PhD,¹, Anupam Kharbanda, M.D.,⁶, Karthik Natarajan, PhD,^7,8, Malini B. DeSilva, M.D.,⁹, Kristin Dascomb, M.D., PhD,¹⁰, Stephanie A. Irving, MHS,⁵, Ousseny Zerbo, PhD,⁴, Sarah E. Reese, PhD,³, Ryan E. Wiegand, PhD,¹, Morgan Najdowski, MPH,¹, Toan C. Ong, PhD,¹¹, Suchitra Rao, MBBS,¹¹, Melissa S. Stockwell, M.D.,^8,12,13, Ashley Stephens, M.D.,^8,12, Kristin Goddard, MPH,⁴, Yessica C. Martinez, MPH,³, Zachary A. Weber, PhD,³, Bruce Fireman,⁴, John Hansen, MPH,⁴, Julius Timbol, M.S.,⁴, Shaun J. Grannis, M.D.,^14,15, Michelle A. Barron, M.D.,¹¹, Peter J. Embi, M.D.,¹⁶, Sarah W. Ball, ScD,³, Manjusha Gaglani, MBBS,^17,18, Nancy Grisel, MPP,¹⁰, Julie Arndorfer, MPH,¹⁰, Mark W. Tenforde, M.D., PhD,¹⁹, Katherine E. Fleming-Dutra, M.D. ¹

Author Affiliations

¹Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC; ²Eagle Health Analytics, San Antonio, Texas; ³Westat, Rockville, Maryland; ⁴Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, Oakland, California; ⁵Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon; ⁶Children’s Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; ⁷Department of Biomedical Informatics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, New York; ⁸New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York; ⁹HealthPartners Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota; ¹⁰Division of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Epidemiology, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, Utah; ¹¹School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado; ¹²Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; ¹³Department of Population and Family Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York; ¹⁴Center for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana; ¹⁵School of Medicine, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana; ¹⁶Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; ¹⁷Section of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor Scott & White Health, Temple, Texas; ¹⁸Department of Medical Education, Texas A&M University College of Medicine, Temple, Texas; ¹⁹Influenza Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC.