Omicron more susceptible to children?
Virology experts: higher proportion, the reason is not clear
Tianjin faced the local epidemic of Omicron for the first time. Since January 8, two positive cases were reported (one nurse and a primary school student). As of 21:00 on January 9, Tianjin had reported 40 positive cases. .
Among them, 22 of the positive infections are students, accounting for 55% of the current reported positive infections.
At 24:00 on January 8, after analysis and comparison, and confirmed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the first two local cases of new coronavirus in Tianjin belonged to the Omicron variant (BA.1 evolutionary branch) and belonged to the same transmission chain.
Children account for half of the Omikron mutants reported in Tianjin. Some experts believe that Omikron is more likely to infect children.
Is this statement scientific?
Is this also the case abroad?
On January 10, Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that judging from the infection data of Omicron in foreign countries, the proportion of infected children is indeed higher, and the infected children are indeed more. There have been hospitalizations and severe cases, but the reasons for this are unclear.
More children are infected than previous strains for unknown reasons
Tianjin is the first city in the mainland to face Omicron, and there is still a lack of data on the analysis of infected people.
Regarding the situation of children's infection, Jin Dongyan mainly judged the situation of children's infection in foreign countries.
"Omicron is actually not much more pathogenic in children than the past strains, but because more children are infected, more children are hospitalized." Jin Dongyan said that compared with other mutant strains, Austrian strains This situation in Microron is outstanding.
The outbreak of infection among children with the Omicron variant strain in Tianjin this time also confirms this.
There are various views on the analysis of the causes of children infected with Omicron.
"It is not clear whether the special effects of Omikron have caused the increase in the number of infections in children." Jin Dongyan analyzed, for example, whether it is because Omikron is easier to replicate in the upper respiratory tract of children, there is no clear conclusion.
Jin Dongyan believes that there are some more precise factors, such as the lower proportion of children's new crown vaccination, and students who are prone to cluster transmission in confined spaces in winter.
What is the current status of children's new crown vaccination in Tianjin?
Judging from the previously released vaccination data, the vaccination rate in Tianjin is not low.
Gu Qing, director of the Tianjin Municipal Health and Health Commission, said that as of December 13, 2021, Tianjin had vaccinated 28.398 million doses of the new coronavirus vaccine, and the first vaccination rate for people over 12 years old reached 94.9%, and the whole-course vaccination rate reached 93.9%.
Covid-19 vaccinations for children aged 3-11 have not been disclosed.
On November 13, 2021, at the press conference of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, Wu Liangyou, deputy director of the National Health and Health Commission's Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention, introduced that 84.395 million people have been vaccinated against the new crown vaccine for people aged 3-11, and will strive to have a vaccine by the end of December. Complete the whole process of vaccination for people aged 3-11.
In view of the risk of children being infected with Omicron, Jin Dongyan suggested that schools in risk areas should be closed as soon as possible to avoid clusters of epidemics in schools.
It is recommended to speed up the development of a new crown vaccine against the Ormicon strain
At present, my country has not yet begun to promote the booster shot of the new crown vaccine for children. Jin Dongyan also suggested that children should be vaccinated with the new crown booster shot.
What's more thorny is that the immune effect of the existing new crown vaccine against Omicron is affected.
On December 23, 2021, the World Health Organization released a report stating that a number of preliminary research results show that some people who have been vaccinated against the new crown virus or infected with other strains of the new coronavirus have antibodies in their bodies. Many countries have recently reported an increase in the number of secondary infections of the new crown.
However, data on the effectiveness of the new crown vaccine in preventing infection with the Omicron strain are still limited, and there is no peer-reviewed research evidence yet.
"The effect of booster injections will be better, and it will help to reduce severe illness, reduce symptoms, and shorten the detoxification cycle." Jin Dongyan believes that the effectiveness of the vaccine is reduced due to the Omicron variant strain, and there is another effective The way of confrontation is to carry out sequential vaccination of the new crown vaccine, that is, the level of neutralizing antibodies produced by the "mixed" booster injection will be higher, and the protection effect will be better.
Jin Dongyan said that it is more important to speed up the development of a new crown vaccine against the Omikron virus, hoping that the vaccine companies will speed up and the regulatory agencies will also be able to fast-track approval.
According to the previous approval progress of the new crown vaccine, clinical trials are carried out in adults first, and then extended to children, so children are vaccinated against the new crown vaccine later than adults.
If a new crown vaccine against Omicron is developed, will it still follow the same process?
Jin Dongyan believes that the new new crown vaccine must not only ensure high quality and safety, but also ensure that it is "used properly" and can be used by those who need it most when it is most needed.
"The development of a new crown vaccine for children should not lag behind adults. This is what it should be, and the whole world is considering this issue." Jin Dongyan said.