US vaccinates children between 5 and 11 years of age... How are we?

<Anchor> The

United States has decided to give children between the ages of 5 and 11 a double dose of the coronavirus vaccine. It remains to be seen whether other countries will do the same as the United States, but our quarantine authorities are positive.

This is Cho Dong-chan, a medical reporter.

<Reporter> The

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Advisory Committee has unanimously decided to vaccinate children 5-11 years old against COVID-19.

[Grace/Chairman of the US Vaccine Advisory Committee: All 14 members of the vaccination committee voted in favor, and it was decided to recommend vaccination to children aged 5 to 11.]

Recently, the number of children infected in the United States increased 2.4 times, accounting for 25% of new confirmed cases

.

This is because the preventive effect and safety of the vaccine for children has been confirmed.

Pfizer's children's vaccine, which has reduced the adult dose by one-third, is given twice, three weeks apart, just like adults.

In a clinical trial involving 4,500 children, when compared to 16 to 25-year-old adults a month after receiving two doses twice, the amount of neutralizing antibody was higher and side effects were significantly less, the U.S. quarantine authorities said.

The U.S. is also conducting clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine from babies 6 months to 5 years of age at a lower age.

Our quarantine authorities are looking at it positively.

[Son Young-rae/Ministry of Health and Welfare Spokesperson: We are not currently compulsory inoculation for teens, but the benefits of vaccination are increasing medically... .]

However, an official of the Korean Academy of Pediatrics and Adolescents said that it is necessary to distinguish between medical and social benefits, and a decision should be made after calmly considering the epidemic situation in Korea.

(Video editing: Park Ki-duk, CG: Jang Seong-beom)

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<Anchor>

[Cho Dong-chan/Medical Reporter (specialist): Let's hear the story of parents who recently got their 6th graders of elementary school vaccinated.]

[Primary school parents: I was worried that it would be okay, but since there is a vaccine pass, overseas travel will be resolved, but even family trips If you want to go, set it up a little in advance (I wanted to)]

[Cho Dong-chan / medical reporter (specialist): If children get a vaccine, they will have more freedom to go to school, travel, and camping. It will also reduce the number of times we spread it to our grandfathers and grandmothers. Considering all of these social aspects, the benefits are great, but the medical benefits are not great because children and corona are not very dangerous.]

[Cho Dong-chan / Medical reporter (specialist): Opinions on this differ from country to country and from expert to expert.

The first is that it is not very dangerous for children corona virus.

In Sweden, where there was a controversy over the natural immunity test last year, among 1.9 million children and adolescents under the age of 16, there was no case of death from Corona.

So far in Korea.

However, if even one person dies from heart complications after receiving the corona vaccine, the loss is huge.

Those in favor of COVID-19 in the United States have so far killed 750 people under the age of 18, of which 160 are between the ages of 5 and 11.

Children with chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes are at risk when contracted with Corona, and in this clinical trial for children, no heart complications were found.]

[Cho Dong-chan / Medical Reporter (specialist): First of all, there are many opinions that children with obesity, diabetes, and immune system diseases are at high risk, but this is the position of the World Health Organization.

However, for healthy children, there are many opinions that it should be decided in consideration of the overall situation, such as the vaccination rate of adults and the trend of patients with severe cases.]

▶ As the entrance exam is

just around the corner

, the proportion of confirmed

cases under the age 

of 10 is 24%