CDC Study: Pfizer Vaccine Linked to Higher COVID Risk in Children Under Five Without Prior Infection

A new CDC study found that children under 5 vaccinated with the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine without prior SARS-CoV-2 infection are 159% more likely to be infected and 257% more likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 symptoms than unvaccinated children who have not previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH, an epidemiologist with the McCullough Foundation, reviewed the study on his Courageous Discourse Substack page. Hulscher wrote,  “These injections do the opposite of what they’re supposed to do. Instead of protecting against COVID-19, these genetic injections either fail or increase the risk. The CDC should immediately revoke their recommendations for children aged 6 months and older to receive a COVID-19 booster injection.”

The authors came to a different conclusion despite the results. They wrote, “Interestingly, among participants without evidence of prior infection, those vaccinated with PfizerBioNTech were more likely to have SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 compared to those who were naïve and unvaccinated. This may be partly due to the fact that only 28% of children who were vaccinated with Pfizer-BioNTech received a bivalent Omicron-containing Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, either as the third dose of the primary series (80.6%) or as an additional booster (19.4%). Further research is needed to assess vaccine effectiveness against infection for this age group for updated 2023-2024 vaccines.”

The results call into question the practice of vaccinating infants against COVID-19 when the COVID infection, hospitalization, and death rates are significantly smaller for this age group. The average COVID hospitalization rate for all age groups is 1%, and the death rate across all age groups is 0.3%. The age group of 0-9 has a 0.2% hospitalization rate and a 0.003% death rate.

The authors of the study also state “COVID-19 vaccines are recommended to reduce severe illness; overall risk of infection may not differ substantially between vaccinated and unvaccinated children <5 years.” As Hulscher pointed out, there is a significantly increased risk of infection for children under five if they receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine and have not previously been infected with SARS–CoV–2.

The study’s conflicts of interest section reports that many authors are associated with pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and others.

The study found that natural immunity is a superior form of protection when compared to vaccine-induced immunity. The authors wrote, “These findings suggest that prior SARS-CoV-2 infection protects against both overall SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19.” Jeffrey Jaxen reported for The HighWire early last year about the latest data supporting the idea that natural immunity is superior and provides robust protection.

In that report, Jaxen points out statements by health officials and news outlets dismissing the effectiveness of natural immunity. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said, “There is no evidence for lasting protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 following natural infection, and the endemic transmission that would be the consequence of waning immunity would present a risk to vulnerable populations for the indefinite future.”

The USA Today ran a fact check that said, “COVID-19 vaccines provide safer, more consistent immunity than infection.” Mother Jones published an article titled, “Anti-Vaxxers Have A Dangerous Theory Called “Natural Immunity.” Now It’s Going Mainstream.”

The New York Times in December 2020 wrote, “Natural Immunity from COVID Is Not Safer Than a Vaccine.” The article refers to Senator Rand Paul’s claim that “the new vaccines were 90 percent and 94.5 percent effective” and COVID-19 infection is 99.9982% effective. The author also states that “the senator was diagnosed with the disease this year” while referring to COVID-19 infection. Disease is a term that refers to a medical condition and is not the same as becoming infected by a pathogen.

Others have criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci for not being honest while comparing natural immunity to vaccine-induced immunity. The HighWire reported that the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic issued its final report last month. The press release for the report stated, “Public health officials engaged in a coordinated effort to ignore natural immunity — which is acquired through previous COVID-19 infection — when developing vaccine guidance and mandates.” 

Dr. Marty Makary also spoke about Dr. Fauci’s dismissal of natural immunity during a Select Subcommittee roundtable last year. Dr. Makary was named by President-elect Donald Trump as the next FDA commissioner. During the hearing, Dr. Makary said, “He [Dr. Fauci] just decided…that if you have circulating antibodies that neutralize the virus, they’re antibodies the government does not recognize unless they were derived from the vaccine.”

The HighWire reported last week about a published study that found unvaccinated women had menstrual abnormalities after being in close proximity with individuals who were vaccinated against COVID-19, which supports Dr. Pierre Kory’s research about vaccine shedding. The HighWire reported in July about a research study that linked the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine to heart failure. Another study by Denis Rancourt concluded that vaccines are responsible for an estimated 17 million deaths worldwide.

The CDC continues to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for everyone over the age of six months old. An article from The HighWire in October detailed a House report about a $900 million taxpayer-funded marketing campaign that spread misinformation that was not based on science, including false numbers that overcounted the number of pediatric deaths from COVID-19 based on a “faulty algorithm” used by the CDC.

The House report also pointed out that the United States is an outlier from the rest of the world for allowing and recommending COVID-19 vaccination for everyone over the age of six months. The UK announced in August 2023 that they would no longer offer the vaccine to individuals under the age of 65 unless they are deemed “high risk.”

Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards reported for The HighWire this week about a new study concluding “there are grave concerns regarding the safety” of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The authors warn of DNA integration, just as Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo warned, and they have called for an “immediate halt of all RNA-based biologicals until these concerns are scientifically addressed and convincingly dispelled.”