According to NACI, vulnerable adolescents aged 12 to 17 need to get a COVID-19 booster shot

According to NACI’s recommendations, the underlying medical conditions that adolescents need to qualify for booster shots include:

• Cancer that is being actively treated.
• Chronic kidney disease.
• Chronic lung disease, including uncontrolled asthma.
• Cystic fibrosis.
• Neurodevelopmental and other chronic neurological conditions, including epilepsy and cerebrovascular accidents.
• Diabetes.
• Down’s syndrome.
• Other chronic heart diseases, including congenital heart disease or pulmonary hypertension.
• Chronic liver disease.
• obesity.
• pregnancy.
• Sickle cell disease or thalassemia.
• Substance use disorder.
• Immunodeficiency conditions including primary immunodeficiency, solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, HIV infection, or immunosuppressive therapy.
• Adolescents who are considered medically vulnerable or have medically complex needs.

With the latest recommendations, more adolescents are eligible for additional coronavirus vaccines.

“Canadian adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 face record high incidences of COVID-19 during this new wave, most of which is caused by Omicron,” NACI said. It is stated in the guidance.

The advisory board found that adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with moderate to severe weakened immunity may not have a adequate immune response with two doses, so the standard COVID immune series It is already recommended to take a third dose as part.

Adolescents over the age of 12 receive the same vaccinations as adults. According to NACI, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is preferred over Moderna for children and adolescents. This is because there is “currently no data” on the use of modeler booster doses in that age group.

NACI continues to monitor data on weakened immunity, but will update the guidance “as needed” rather than recommending booster shots to the general population aged 12 to 17 “at this time”. Said there is.

Booster shots for all adolescents over 12 years old approved in the U.S.

According to experts, all teens don’t need proof boosters yet

Dr. Fatima Kakkar, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at CHUSainte-Justine in Montreal, welcomed Friday’s booster guidance.

“It’s not a complete recommendation for everyone between the ages of 12 and 17 to need a booster,” she said. “Overall, for most adolescents, we still know that it is a double dose. [vaccine] Regimen are very effective for serious illnesses. ”

In addition to COVID-19 itself, one of the concerns of children and teens is Pediatric Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C) in children. This is a rare but serious condition that can occur after being infected with the coronavirus.

Pediatric patients she said she was hospitalized for COVID-19 or MIS-C generally fall into three categories. Immune vulnerable; or suffering from multiple underlying medical conditions.

Dawn Bowdish, a professor at the McMaster Immunology Research Center in Hamilton, said that while specific data on adolescents and COVID-19 immunity are not yet available, healthy children and teens are generally more than adults after vaccination. Also said that it shows a strong immune response.

“There are so few studies we suggest that children’s reactions last much longer than adults. Even some healthy middle-aged people have immunity up to 6 months. May have declined, but children seem to be able to maintain their immune response for 12 months. That’s it. ”

Immune-deficient children aged 5-11 years

Earlier Friday, Canada’s Director of Public Health, Dr. Teresatam, said children aged 5 to 11 years with moderate to severe immunodeficiency should receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. .. Published on Tuesday..

The Commission stated that the third dose given to the child should be the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine and should be given 4-8 weeks after the second dose.

According to NACI guidance, children and teens are considered to have weakened immunity if they have any of the following conditions:

• Aggressive treatment of solid tumors or hematological malignancies.
• I have a solid organ transplant and am receiving immunosuppressive therapy.
• Receiving Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy or stem cell transplantation (within 2 years of receiving transplantation or immunosuppressive therapy).
• Moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency with associated humoral and / or cell-mediated immunodeficiency or immunodeficiency.
• Treatment of HIV with immunosuppressive therapy.

NACI emphasizes recommending that children be vaccinated

NACI’s guidance also “strengthens” the previous recommendation to vaccinate all children aged 5 to 11 with two pediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The dose for children is one-third (10 micrograms) of the 30 microgram dose given to adolescents and adults over the age of 12.

See | Will the updated recommendations improve children’s vaccination?

COVID-19: Will the updated guidance improve children’s vaccination?

Infectious disease expert Dr. Isaac Bogotti said whether guidance from the National Advisory Board on Immunization that children should be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine would improve intake, and whether people would improve their intake and new variants of people. Answer questions about how much you should be concerned about. 4:25

“Children aged 5 to 11 years, including the Omicron variant, remain at low risk of serious outcomes for COVID-19, but children who are experiencing severe illness or need hospitalization. The number of [a] During this pandemic wave, many children are infected with SARS-CoV-2. ”