On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the results of a study that reaffirmed that Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine was safe for children aged between 5 and 11 years old.
According to the study, there were just 100 confirmed "serious" reactions to the vaccine among children between Nov. 3 and Dec. 19 in the 8 million doses administered.
The study, which was published as part of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, noted that between Nov. 3 and Dec. 19, there were a total of 4,249 reports of adverse events made to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). However, further investigation showed that only 2.4% — or 100 — of those reports were truly serious incidents.
Of those 100 reports, 60 were for reports of fever or vomiting. There were also 12 reports of seizures and 15 reports of increased troponin levels.
VAERS is a public database that tracks adverse reactions to vaccines. It accepts reports from anyone, from health care providers to members of the public.
The CDC says most adverse events reported were administration errors that often mentioned that no adverse event "was associated with receipt of an incorrect dose." The CDC said it had already expected administrative errors because the Pfizer vaccine for children was the first that required a lower dosage.
The study also noted that it received 11 reports of children who developed a case of myocarditis or inflammation of the heart. The study said that the findings were consistent with a handful of cases of myocarditis among teenagers who took the Pfizer vaccine.
Earlier this year, the CDC acknowledged that myocarditis is a very rare side effect of the vaccine but noted that the benefits of vaccination far outweighed the risk.
The CDC study also noted that two deaths were reported. Both of the children who died had "multiple chronic medical conditions."
"On initial review, no data were found that would suggest a causal association between death and vaccination," the study read.
The study was released a day after White House medical officials noted that hospitalizations among children are on the rise amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. However, Dr. Anthony Fauci said that many children being admitted to the hospital for other reasons are being diagnosed with COVID-19 because the highly-contagious omicron variant is spreading rapidly in communities.
Health officials said Wednesday encouraged all parents who had not vaccinated their children older than five to do so, noting that vaccines remain the best way to fight the omicron variant.
