Asian Tech Press (Dec 31) -- Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine caused mostly mild side effects in children ages 5 to 11, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC report noted that the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) received 4,249 reports of adverse events after vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5-11 years, of which 97.6% were not serious.

The agency also said that approximately 8.7 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine co-developed by Pfizer Inc. and German company BioNTech SE, have been administered to children in this age group.