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Children's Health and Covid: a guide so that parents do not fall for the alarm
Vaccines Israel starts vaccinating children between 5 and 11 years old: "The vaccine is safe and protects children and their parents"
Covid-19 Vaccinate minors between 5 and 11 years old, between the priority and the need to reach 90% coverage in Spain
With the approval of the European Medicines Agency (EMA, for its acronym in English), the possibility opens to further encircle SARS-CoV-2 with the immunization of children between 5 and 11 years old.
From the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH) they offer the keys to resolve doubts about pediatric vaccination:
Is it safe to vaccinate a child under 12 years old against covid?
We cannot forget that children
are the ones who have suffered the most from the consequences of the pandemic.
For example, the non-administration of vaccines on their schedule, diseases that can have serious direct consequences on their health, something that we have seen that has recovered quickly thanks to the good pediatric health system that we have.
Regarding covid vaccines, we must be honest and say that like all drugs have adverse effects, that said, it must be said that
RNA-based covid vaccines are among the safest and most effective
in history.
Which vaccine would be the most effective?
Currently, the European Community has two approved RNA vaccines, known as Pfizer and Moderna.
In Spain they are available for children 12 years of age or older with high-risk pathologies
and for children born in 2002 or later.
If parents put a table with the pros and cons, the efficacy would clearly be in the first column for both vaccines.
In the case of vaccination in minors, would there be vaccines available for everyone?
When a vaccination campaign is planned, sufficient doses are provided.
Comment and this would lead to another debate, that
possibly for this Christmas we will have the indication to vaccinate children between 5 and 12 years old,
whose data have already been presented to the European Medicines Agency for study.
What role do children play in the transmission of covid?
First I want to clarify some concepts.
We are fortunate that the approved vaccines have a very high effectiveness against the delta variant that is circulating.
Vaccines were designed to prevent severe disease, and we also know that they are also capable of cutting disease transmission in half.
This makes sense, since
their ability to protect the upper airway is limited,
something that does not change the usefulness of vaccines.
If we look at today's data, we see that the percentage of adolescents vaccinated against covid in Andalusia is higher than 83%, and when we consult the table of infections by age we see that
the groups with the highest contagion are those under 12 years of age and adults between 30 and 40 years.
I am convinced that
the vaccination of adolescents is the reason for the low contagion in that age range
.
The role of children in the pandemic is still a matter of debate.
There are studies that show
a similar transmission in children, adolescents or adults
, and others that say it is less in children and adolescents.
What benefit does this population group obtain from vaccination?
Do you weigh risks and benefits?
Currently the European Medicines Agency tells us that
the benefit outweighs the risks
in this population group.
Can we vaccinate a child just for the benefit of the community?
We have to
bear in mind that vaccination has two sides, one selfish and the other altruistic
.
The personal benefit is verified when
the percentage of vaccinated over 80 years is 100%
, they are very clear that the vaccine prevents them from developing a serious disease if they become infected.
And then the
generosity of getting vaccinated by Public Health,
something that in Spain is traditionally observed unlike other countries, this has allowed us to have the best vaccination results in the world.
Currently we have children with masks
, I am convinced that vaccination will cut any link in the transmission chain and end this pandemic.
Is there urgency in vaccinating these minors?
Vaccines for children are safe and effective, although
in a global context of limited supply, priority should be given to groups at greatest risk
, such as health care workers.
Although at the same time it is naive to think that if I don't wear it, that vaccine will go to one of those countries that need it.
Sooner or later, vaccinated or not, we will be in contact with the virus, the vaccine is a tool that will allow us to be prepared for that encounter.
The question I would ask would be the following,
which is better natural immunity or vaccination?
* Francisco Araujo
,
hospital pharmacist at the Virgen del Rocío Children's Hospital in Seville and spokesperson for the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH).
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