In November 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized children ages 5 to 12 to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine against covid-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC) and the Committee for Human Medicine of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended that this infant dose be lower, specifically 10 micrograms compared to 30 micrograms administered to persons 12 years of age and older.
This situation has sparked controversy and a public debate centered on the question of whether it is wise to vaccinate children. Surveys show that in some countries, such as the US, up to 66% of the parents surveyed are reluctant to vaccinate their children.
However, analyzing the current circumstances and studying the different factors and situations involved, there are several reasons that support the recommendation to vaccinate children between 5 and 12 years old.
First: We must not trust ourselves
Covid-19 is a dangerous disease that affects any sector of the population, including children. Children have the right to be protected against a disease that can be serious. It is true that, at the moment, most children have a mild or asymptomatic disease, but a significant percentage become quite ill and some even die. The higher the number of infected, the higher the number of deaths.
When the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus entered the United States of America in early 2020, children accounted for less than 3% of cases. Today they already account for more than 25%. During the year 2021, about 100,000 children per week were infected in the United States, and many have required hospitalization in intensive care units. Nearly 700 children have died from Covid-19, placing SARS-CoV-2 infection among the top 10 causes of death in American children.
In England, between January 6 and June 28, 2020, 437 deaths in children aged 0-17 were related to SARS CoV-2 and 25 of them gave a positive PCR result. Since the start of the pandemic in Spain, the coronavirus has caused ten deaths in children under 10 years of age, and about 200 admissions to intensive care.
It is logical to think that, if the virus does not disappear, the number of child deaths caused by covid-19 will continue to increase. Children must be protected.
Second: Vaccines are safe
No child has died from the vaccination. The protection offered by the vaccine against the disease is especially high in this sector of the population.
The main study conducted in children aged 5 to 11 years showed that the immune response to Comirnaty, given at a dose of 10 micrograms to this age group, was comparable to that seen with the highest dose of 30 micrograms in people aged 16 to 25 years.
The efficacy of Comirnaty was estimated in almost 2,000 children aged 5 to 11 years who did not show signs of previous infection. These children received the vaccine or a placebo. Of the 1,305 children who received the vaccine, three developed COVID-19 compared to 16 of the 663 children who received placebo. This means that, in this study, the vaccine was 90.7% effective in preventing symptomatic covid-19, although the actual rate could range from 67.7% to 98.3%.
Third: Cases grow
Surveillance data shows that children ages 5 to 11 have accounted for an increasing proportion of reported cases and of hospitalizations in the countries of the European Union in recent months.
Unvaccinated children are at high risk of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and can contribute to the spread both in schools and within homes and groups. vulnerable.
Children with unvaccinated comorbidities are more likely to be hospitalized and to be admitted to the FIA. The child population percentage is significant in most countries, so vaccination in this sector is a fundamental help to achieve the desired group protection, which with the Delta variant has been estimated at around 90%.
Fourth: Ómicron prevails
The relative contribution of children to the general circulation of SARS-CoV-2 may have increased due to factors including increased vaccination coverage in older age groups and the emergence of highly communicable variants such as Delta or Omicron.
Variant B.1.1.529 (Ómicron) was notified to the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 24, 2021. This new variant was first detected in samples collected on November 11, 2021 in Botswana and on November 14, 2021 in South Africa.
On November 26, 2021, the WHO named the omicron variant B.1.1.529 and classified it as a variant of concern (VOC). The estimated distribution (median and range of values of 20 European Union countries during weeks 47 to 48, from November 22 to December 5, 2021) of the variants of concern (VOC) was 97.3% for B. 1.617.2 (Delta) and only 0.4% for B.1.1.529 (Ómicron).
However, in recent weeks Omicron has been detected in increasing numbers in several European Union countries, some of which have already reported community transmission. As of December 16, 3 158 cases of the Omicron variant in the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU / EEA). For now, the rise seems unstoppable and it is likely that the Omicron variant will lead us to new records of infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
Fifth: More school safety
Childhood vaccination contributes to achieving safer educational spaces, prevents the closure of schools and quarantine periods, facilitating the training and psycho-emotional well-being of children.
According to latest data available from UNICEF, worldwide at least 1 in 7 children has been directly affected by the lockdowns caused by the pandemic, while more than 1.6 billion children have suffered educational lapses.
Reports consistently indicate that quarantine measures to control the spread of COVID-19 can trigger or exacerbate mental health problems in children and adolescents, leading to disorders of various kinds. Children need to go to school, play with friends, and participate in extracurricular activities for their social and emotional development. Vaccines facilitate the achievement of this purpose.
In conclusion, global childhood vaccination can be a titanic public health effort, but it will have a major impact to promote the end of the covid-19 pandemic, because it will help reduce the circulation of the virus and the appearance of new and dangerous variants.
Raúl Rivas González, Professor of Microbiology, University of Salamanca
This article was originally published on The Conversation. read the original.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx