Estimates of Single Dose and Full Dose BNT162b2 Vaccine Effectiveness among USAF Academy cadets, 1 Mar - 1 May 2021

Wickert, D. P.; Almand, E.; Cullenbine, C. A.; Huckstep, O. J.; Rohrer, J.; Sitko, J. C.; Steel, J. J.; Hasstedt, S.

Beginning in early March 2021 and continuing through May 2021, the USAF Academy began vaccinating cadets for protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus with the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccine. During this period, vaccination of the almost 4200 cadet population increased from 3% to 85% and prevalence of COVID-19 in the cadet population was constant at approximately 0.4% as indicated by weekly surveillance testing. In this study, vaccine effectiveness at preventing infection is estimated by comparing infection risk as a function of time since vaccination. A statistically significant four-fold reduction in infection risk was observed 14 days after the first vaccine dose and an eleven-fold reduction in infection risk was observed in fully vaccinated cadets. Overall, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 91% (95% confidence interval = 55-99%) effective at preventing infection in healthy young adults (17-26 years of age) in a university setting and military training environment.