WHO: Interim statement on COVID-19 vaccination for children
11 August 2022 Statement
Below are extracts of an Interim Statement via WHO News. The item was quite long (4000 words) and the full version is here: https://www.who.int/news/item/11-08-2022-interim-statement-on-covid-19-v...
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WHO, with the support of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization and its COVID-19 Vaccines Working Group, is reviewing the emerging evidence on the need for and timing of vaccinating children and adolescents with the currently available COVID-19 vaccines, which have received Emergency Use Listing (EUL)...
This interim statement is not a policy recommendation. It examines the role of COVID-19 vaccines in children and adolescents in the global context of inequitable vaccine distribution and access across countries at a time when many countries have not yet achieved high vaccine coverage rates in the highest and high priority-use groups...
The greatest burden of disease in terms of severe disease and deaths remains among older persons and those with comorbidities...
Global disparities in vaccination continue; and many countries have not yet achieved high vaccine coverage of the most at-risk populations...
There are currently no vaccine supply constraints. Although the majority of COVID-19 vaccines are only approved for use in adults aged 18 years and above, an increasing number of vaccines are now also being authorized for use in children...
SARS-CoV-2 typically causes less severe illness and fewer deaths in children and adolescents compared to adults. Nonetheless, children and adolescents remain susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and may transmit the virus to others, with the risk of both infection and transmission increasing with age...
Children and adolescents can experience prolonged clinical symptoms (known as "long COVID-19", post COVID-19 condition(11), or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection), however, the frequency and characteristics of these conditions are still under investigation, and to date they appear to be less frequent compared to adults. Additionally, a hyperinflammatory syndrome, although rare, has been reported to occur world-wide and complicates recovery from COVID-19. This is referred to as paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) in Europe and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in North America.
Several risk factors for severe COVID-19 in children have been reported...
The most substantive evidence on the risk of severe COVID-19 and death in children and adolescents comes from studies in high resource settings, so the generalizability of the following observations to lower resource settings remains to be determined...
Safety of COVID-19 vaccines in adolescents and children:
In Phase 2/3 trials for both mRNA vaccines, efficacy and immunogenicity were similar or higher compared to adults...
In post-introduction studies and real-world experience, a very rare serious adverse event was reported: myocarditis/pericarditis. Cases of myocarditis/pericarditis occurred more often in younger men (16-24 years of age) and after the second dose of the vaccine compared to older adults and also children. These cases of myocarditis and pericarditis typically occurred within a few days after vaccination, are generally mild, respond to conservative treatment, and are less severe with better outcomes than classical myocarditis or COVID-19 related myocarditis...
Considerations for vaccinating adolescents and children...
As children and adolescents tend to have milder disease compared to adults, unless they are in a group at higher risk of severe COVID-19, it is less urgent to vaccinate them than older people, and those with chronic health conditions and health workers.
However, there are benefits of vaccinating children and adolescents that go beyond the direct health benefits. Minimizing disruptions to education for children and maintenance of their overall well-being, health and safety are important considerations. Vaccination that decreases SARS-CoV-2 transmission in this age group may reduce transmission from children and adolescents to older adults, and may help reduce the need for mitigation measures in schools. However, during the current Omicron dominant period, vaccine impact on transmission is only modest and short-lived.
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Best wishes, Neil
Let's build a future where children are no longer dying for lack of healthcare information - Join CHIFA (Child Healthcare Information For All): http://www.hifa.org/forums/chifa-child-health-and-rights
CHIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is the coordinator of the HIFA campaign (Healthcare Information For All) and assistant moderator of the CHIFA forum. Twitter: @hifa_org FB: facebook.com/HIFAdotORG neil@hifa.org
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