Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40101263›Full record

ArticleDeutsches Arzteblatt international2025

The Long-Term Tolerability of BNT162b2 in Children and Adolescents (the CoVacU18 Study).

Vivien Grieshaber, Christoph Strumann, Sarah Holzwarth, Nicole Toepfner, Wolfgang Carl Gustav von Meißner, Nikos Konstantopoulos, Martina von Poblotzki, Kai O Hensel, Matthias B Moor, Cho-Ming Chao

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Article in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Vivien GrieshaberUniversität Witten/-Herdecke, Fakultät für Gesundheit, Department für Humanmedizin, Witten
Christoph StrumannInstitute of Family Medicine, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Luebeck, Luebeck, Germany
Sarah HolzwarthDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Nicole ToepfnerDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
Wolfgang Carl Gustav von MeißnerHausärzte am Spritzenhaus, Baiersbronn; Praxis die Kinderärzte, Munich
Nikos KonstantopoulosHausärzte am Spritzenhaus, Baiersbronn; Praxis die Kinderärzte, Munich
Martina von PoblotzkiDepartment of Clinical Sience, Intervention and Technology (CLINTEC), Division of Renal Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Schweden
Kai O HenselUniversität Witten/-Herdecke, Fakultät für Gesundheit, Department für Humanmedizin, Witten
Matthias B MoorDepartment of Laboratory Medicine (LABMED), Devision of Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Cho-Ming ChaoUniversität Witten/-Herdecke, Fakultät für Gesundheit, Department für Humanmedizin, Witten

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe available safety data on the use of the messenger RNA-based COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 in persons under age 18 are limited to observation periods of up to six months.

methodsIn a retrospective, cross-sectional study, we evaluated self-reported vaccine tolerability (SRVT) in eleven symptom categories among persons who were under 18 years old when they received at least one dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine in Germany on or after 1 October 2021. Data were collected online from the parents or legal guardians of the vaccinated persons. Individual participation codes enabled authenticated and pseudonymous participation in the survey. In a subgroup, the SRVT of BNT162b2 was compared with that of vaccines against other illnesses than SARS-CoV-2 (e.g., influenza).

resultsTolerability data were obtained from 3228 persons with a median age of 5.7 years; 49.6% were male. The median period of observation was 524 days. The more commonly reported undesired effects of the vaccine, mainly in older subjects, were local reactions- pain (49.7%), redness (23%)-with less common systemic symptoms including fatigue (20.1%), fever (11.4%), general feeling of illness (8.0%), and headache (6.5%). Compared to vaccines against other illnesses, BNT162b2 was more commonly associated with local and systemic symptoms (gastrointestinal, musculo - skeletal, dermatological, neurological, psychological). 41 (1.3%) of the subjects reported that their SRVT persisted for ≥90 days after vaccination with BNT162b2: these symptoms were mainly psychological (15 subjects), neurological (9 subjects), and dermatological (8 subjects). There were 45 serious adverse events; these were associated with female sex (OR = 4.70, 95% confidence interval [2.17; 10.20]) and with long-term medication use (OR = 4.06 [1.53; 10.79]).

conclusionVaccination with BNT162b2 was reportedly well tolerated by more than 98% of the children and adolescents who received it, although symptoms were more common than after vaccination against other illnesses than SARS-CoV-2. The participants in our study may have had a more positive attitude toward vaccination. On the other hand, a selection bias might exist for participants who experienced vaccination side effects.

Indexed as

BNT162 VaccineCOVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansInfantMaleRetrospective StudiesSARS-CoV-2BNT162 VaccineCOVID-19 Vaccines

Identifiers

PMID40101263
PMCPMC13234850

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.