BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccination Against Coronavirus Disease 2019 is Associated With a Decreased Likelihood of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children Aged 5–18 Years—United States, July 2021 – April 2022
BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), linked to antecedent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, is associated with considerable morbidity. Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by vaccination might also decrease MIS-C likelihood. METHODS: In a multicenter, case-control, public health investigation of children ages 5-18 years hospitalized from 1 July 2021 to 7 April 2022, we compared the odds of being fully vaccinated (2 doses of BNT162b2 vaccine ≥28 days before hospital admission) between MIS-C case-patients and hospital-based controls who tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. These associations were examined by age group, timing of vaccination, and periods of Delta and Omicron variant predominance using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: We compared 304 MIS-C case-patients (280 [92%] unvaccinated) with 502 controls (346 [69%] unvaccinated). MIS-C was associated with decreased likelihood of vaccination (adjusted OR [aOR]: .16; 95% CI: .10-.26), including among children ages 5-11 years (aOR: .22; 95% CI: .10-.52), ages 12-18 years (aOR: .10; 95% CI: .05-.19), and during the Delta (aOR: .06; 95% CI: .02-.15) and Omicron (aOR: .22; 95% CI: .11-.42) variant-predominant periods. This association persisted beyond 120 days after the second dose (aOR: .08; 95% CI: .03-.22) in 12-18-year-olds. Among all MIS-C case-patients, 187 (62%) required intensive care unit admission and 280 (92%) vaccine-eligible case-patients were unvaccinated. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination with 2 doses of BNT162b2 is associated with reduced likelihood of MIS-C in children ages 5-18 years. Most vaccine-eligible hospitalized patients with MIS-C were unvaccinated.
Authors
- Satoshi Kamidani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6829-0700)
- Jennifer E. Schuster
- Janet R. Hume (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8891-6800)
- Emily R. Levy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8447-7663)
- Margaret M. Newhams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3738-1172)
- Bria M. Coates (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4264-5440)
- Tamara T. Bradford (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5220-7423)
- Katherine Irby (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8111-3215)
- Ryan A. Nofziger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7057-2686)
- Charlotte V. Hobbs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4829-0791)
- Natalie Z. Cvijanovich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9905-4137)
- Natasha Halasa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6381-1826)
- Kathleen Chiotos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0204-8708)
- Hillary Crandall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5392-8457)
- Samina S. Bhumbra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4036-0479)
- Ashley M Price (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1480-2843)
- Melissa L. Cullimore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9150-9923)
- Julie A. Boom (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5500-117X)
- Aline B. Maddux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0949-4284)
- Melissa A. Cameron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3710-0809)
- Cameron C. Young (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7323-4834)
- Overcoming COVID- Investigators
- Laura D. Zambrano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0145-9142)
- Stephanie P. Schwartz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4314-6117)
- Laura Smallcomb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2372-6790)
- Shira J. Gertz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8119-6006)
- Matt S. Zinter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3351-3278)
- Amber Orzel
- Tracie C. Walker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6077-2315)
- Heidi R. Flori (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6047-6970)
- Cindy Bowens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5923-7844)
- Adrienne G. Randolph (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3084-3071)
- Sabrina M. Heidemann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4071-0280)
- Elizabeth H. Mack (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6913-6892)
- Pia S. Pannaraj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5208-0933)
- Michele Kong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6596-3965)
- Samantha M. Olson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0589-5766)
- Leila C. Sahni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0833-5695)
- Katherine Bline (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2399-8075)
- Angela P. Campbell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2576-482X)
- Kelly N. Michelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9714-9535)
- Keiko M. Tarquinio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2688-1021)
- Manish Patel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9407-8647)
Institutions
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- UNC Libraries
- Published
- 2025-04-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.17615/9x43-c730
- Primary Topic
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00