Misleading: In clinical trial(s), 86 percent of children suffered an adverse reaction to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

By: Devika Kandelwal
September 16 2021

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86.2 percent of children reported mild to moderate pain at the injection site. Serious adverse reactions are rare. The Daily Expose, a conspiracy news site, published an article on September 14, 2021, titled, "13 reasons why you should not allow your child to get the Covid-19 Vaccine." The first reason stated in the article is, "86% of Children suffered an Adverse Reaction to the Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccine in the Clinical Trial." This claim has been circulating since June 2021, when the Daily Expose shared an article about it. The claim has been debunked repeatedly. While it is true that 86.2 percent of children reported pain at the injection site, the vast majority of the subjects reported that pain as mild to moderate. The pain was short-lived. The article omits this context to stoke fear. The Daily Expose article states that "Of the 1,127 children who received a first dose of the jab, 86% experienced an adverse reaction. Of the 1,097 children who received a second dose of the jab, 78.9% experienced an adverse reaction." According to the data shared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among 1,127 children who took part in the study, after the first dose, around 86.2 percent experienced mild, moderate, and acute pain at the injection site. However, the Daily Expose article suggests that 86 percent of children reported severe side effects, which is false. Only 11 children, i.e., 1 percent of trial participants, experienced acute pain at the injection site. The article fails to mention that that figure of 86 percent represents the percentage of adolescents who reported pain at the injection site after the first shot. Additionally, after the second dose was administered to 1,097 participants, 78.9 percent of those who experienced pain at the injection site, in 42.5 percent of cases, it was mild; in 35.8 percent of cases, it was moderate; and in 0.6 percent of cases, it was severe. Serious adverse events are extremely rare, and the article conflates mild and moderate pain at the injection site with severe side effects to mislead people. There were no severe adverse reactions in the Pfizer clinical trials. This information is publically available in the FDA's own data that the Daily Expose cites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone aged 12 and above should get a COVID-19 vaccine to help slow the spread of the disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.