Mass contagion and uncertainty stop child vaccination: "Clear guidelines must be given and followed, otherwise this is a kingdom of Taifas"

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Vaccination in the age range from five to 11 years old began on December 15, in full swing of the sixth wave.

In the first week, 700,000 doses were administered, a frenetic pace that has been slowing down more and more, up to about 30,000 doses since the beginning of February.

We were halfway there when the massive infection hit us.

Hundreds of thousands of children have been infected this winter, after almost two years of sacrifices not to do so.

Many were days away from being vaccinated.

“Vaccination between the ages of five and 11 started with quite a bit of momentum.

In that age group there were still few cases.

The omicron variant entered more or less at that time and

», explains Fernando García-Sala, president of the Prandi Foundation of the Spanish Society of Outpatient Pediatrics and Primary Care.

"When it was considered to put the second dose, or the first in other cases, many had already passed the Covid."

Under the current protocol, children who have been infected before the first dose will have to wait eight weeks to receive the vaccine, which for them will consist of a single prick.

Those who have been infected between doses and doses will also wait another eight weeks to put on the second one and complete the pattern.

"With which,

," says García-Sala, who also points to two other causes of the current slowdown.

One of them has been that the whole system, from education to health, has come close to collapsing with omicron.

“In some communities the vaccination model has changed.

Before it was vaccinated in schools, and now

.

And in other places they were vaccinated in Primary Care, in health centers, which are now very collapsed, ”reviews the pediatrician.

And one last cause: "Thirdly, many parents see that their children have had Covid and have had few symptoms, which makes them withdraw a bit," says García-Sala, to underline: "Having said all this,

».

Although, apart from epidemiological interest, there are purely pediatric reasons: “If a child has Covid and is vaccinated, that Covid is going to be much milder than if he were not vaccinated.

Just as it is happening in adults », she reasons.

"I hope that in March the vaccination of children will be reactivated," García-Sala confides.

Although several elements of uncertainty persist, which have to do with the lack of clarity with which the recommendations have been transmitted.

«

.

What we cannot do is make variations: 'I believe, I think...'.

And that is happening many times, "laments the pediatrician.

“You have to follow the recommendations;

in this case, from the Ministry.

If not, it is a kingdom of Taifas, it cannot be.

There has been a lot of discrepancy.

Many people have opinions, but they have opinions on a personal level, and I believe that

.

This is not a debate, it is a very serious thing.

You have to put the dots on the i's and all go in the same boat, "argues García-Sala.

The confusion, he adds, has not only come from the contradictory opinions that have been appearing in the media, but also from the institutional planning itself.

«There has been so much variation in the protocols that

, because if I tell you this today and I tell you the other tomorrow, people distrust.

And that's not good.

It makes, sometimes, even the pediatrician himself doubt.

Things are continually changing and, in the end, doubts”, explains García-Sala.

Despite everything, he does not believe that there is a real scientific debate about childhood vaccination.

Controversy, none.

and deal with this as best we can, ”says the pediatrician.

"And, above all, not change protocols so much, that can't be. It's logical that people distrust in the end, I understand it."

In addition to a lower risk of suffering from severe Covid and a greater possibility of controlling the epidemic, experts hope that childhood vaccination will serve to stop persistent Covid, which can cause physical and cognitive damage even to children or adolescents who have had Covid with few or no symptoms.

According to estimates by the UK Office for National Statistics, there may be some

in this country, a figure that increases to 73,000 between the ages of 12 and 16.

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