Effectiveness of 2024–2025 COVID-19 Vaccines in Children in the United States — VISION, August 29, 2024–September 2, 2025
Stephanie A. Irving, Elizabeth Rowley, Sean Chickery, Karthik Natarajan, Nicola P. Klein, Shaun J. Grannis, Toan C. Ong, Sarah W. Ball, Malini B. DeSilva, Kristin Dascomb, Allison L. Naleway, Melissa S. Stockwell, Ashley Stephens, Ousseny Zerbo, John Hansen, Lawrence Block, Karen B. Jacobson, Brian E. Dixon, Colin Rogerson, Tom Duszynski, Michelle A. Barron, David Mayer, Catia Chávez, Zachary A. Weber, Sarah E. Reese, Inih Essien, Tamara Sheffield, Daniel Bride, Julie Arndorfer, Josh Van Otterloo, Pradeep Koppolu, Josephine Mak, Amber Kautz, Jennifer DeCuir, Ryan E. Wiegand, Amanda B. Payne, Ruth Link‐Gelles
Abstract
During September 2023-August 2024, approximately 38,000 COVID-19-associated hospitalizations occurred among children and adolescents aged <18 years in the United States, a rate of approximately 53 per 100,000 children, ranging from 600 per 100,000 children aged <6 months to 21 per 100,000 children and adolescents aged 5-17 years. On June 27, 2024, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that all persons aged ≥6 months receive a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, which targeted Omicron JN.1 and JN.1-derived sublineages. Investigators used a test-negative case-control design to estimate vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines against COVID-19-associated emergency department or urgent care (ED/UC) visits during August 29, 2024-September 2, 2025, among immunocompetent children aged 9 months-4 years and children and adolescents aged 5-17 years in the CDC-funded Virtual SARS-CoV-2, Influenza, and Other respiratory viruses Network (VISION), a multisite electronic health record-based network in nine states. Among children aged 9 months-4 years, VE against COVID-19-associated ED/UC visits was estimated at 76% (95% CI = 58%-87%) during the first 7-179 days after vaccination. Among children and adolescents aged 5-17 years, VE against COVID-19-associated ED/UC visits was an estimated 56% (95% CI = 35%-70%) during the first 7-179 days after vaccination. These findings suggest that vaccination with a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine dose provided children with additional protection against COVID-19-associated ED/UC encounters compared with no 2024-2025 dose.