ANTI-VAXXERS might claim the necessity to inoculate children aged three to 11 years to reach herd immunity at a faster pace as merely a sales gimmick to enrich pharmaceutical giants but there is perhaps a pure medical rationale behind such argument.
As schools will reopen next year amid the highly contagious Wuhan and other variants spreading across communities, parents are obviously eager for children of all ages to have protection against COVID-19 virus infection.
Currently, only children aged 12 to 17 years are eligible to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine although it would soon become available for younger age groups.
For example, the China-approved Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for children aged three to 17, many of the adverse effects were either mild or moderate with likely common pain at the injection site.
Based on the paediatric population in China’s vaccinated children, the vaccine has shown a high safety and efficacy result, according to Chile’s Immunology and Immunotherapy Millennium Institute professor and director Dr Alexis M. Kalergis.
“Here in Chile, the inactivated vaccines are commonly used among the population for other diseases such as polio and hepatitis. We have received a high recommendation from the Ministry of Health and Scientific Committee where they have been supporting the approval for the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccine in children aged six and above,” he observed.
“To date, this has been moving efficiently and the adverse effect are very rare. And of course, in our study, we have collected good data for its safety and efficacy.”
Kalergis was speaking during a recent Pharmaniaga Bhd webinar entitled COVID-19 Booster Shots and Vaccination for Children: Moving forward with experiences from China, Chile and Indonesia.
PT Bio Farma operational director of and vice-chairman of OIC-VMG (Vaccine Manufacturers Group) Dr M. Rahman Roestan from Indonesia said the deployment of children vaccination is important to reach herd immunity.
“Based on the Indonesian health expert perspective, more clinical trials are necessary to determine the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine among the children,” he noted. “After we have reached approximately 70% of the adult population, children vaccination has started right after.”
According to Dr Rahman, the pandemic has impacted many people, especially children in terms of their social skills, education, physical and mental health as well as limited social interaction.
“We have retrieved the data that 78% of parents agree to vaccinate their children once the vaccine is available,” he revealed. “More than 64% of parents have agreed to send their children to school if the authority implemented strict protocols.”
According to Dr Rahman, Indonesia is in the midst of registering children aged three to 17 years who have applied for clinical trials (Phase I and II) by the Indonesian National Risk Assessment (NRA).
Currently, the Sinovac COVID-19 global clinical trial has started in South Africa with Chile, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Kenya participating for children aged 3 to 17 years.
With the total number of children under 18 making up a significant proportion of 28.3% of the Malaysian population of 32.7 million in 2020 (based on Children Statistics for Malaysia 2020), the ongoing trial concluded that Malaysia can achieve herd immunity against COVID-19 faster if it can vaccinate all children and adolescent in the country. – Oct 15, 2021
