COVID-19 vaccines significantly cut MIS-C risk in teens

(HealthDay)—COVID-19 mRNA vaccination is associated with a lower incidence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in adolescents, according to a research letter published online Dec. 20 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Michael Levy, M.D., Ph.D., from Hôpital Universitaire Robert-Debré in Paris, and colleagues reviewed data from all pediatric patients diagnosed with MIS-C between Sept. 1, 2021, and Oct. 31, 2021.

The researchers report that a total of 107 children with MIS-C were hospitalized in France and, among them, 31 percent were adolescents eligible for vaccination. Adolescents with MIS-C had a median age of 13.7 years, 81 percent were male, and 88 percent were admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit. None of the hospitalized teens were fully vaccinated, although 33 were vaccine-eligible. Seven teens had received one dose, with a median time between vaccine injection and MIS-C onset of 25 days (range 17 to 37 days). After the first vaccine dose, the risk for MIS-C was significantly lower than that seen for unvaccinated adolescents (hazard ratio, 0.09).

"The absence of MIS-C cases in fully vaccinated children prevented calculation of a hazard ratio for this group, but suggests that two doses are warranted for efficient protection," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to Pfizer.