Why Utah Pediatricians Say COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Is “Really Important News”

Salt Lake City — For pediatric professionals like Dr. Andrew Pavia COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) The vaccine was safe and very effective for children up to 12 years of age. This is welcome news.

Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech are currently working together on one of the three vaccines available to adults in the United States. Publish the report It was 100% effective among clinical trial participants between the ages of 12 and 15.

The vaccine has already been approved for emergency use in children up to the age of 16 included in a study initiated last year. The new study will go through the same process through the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks before children up to the age of 12 have access to the vaccine in the United States.

Utah experts estimate that children between the ages of 12 and 15 may be vaccinated by around June. It could also open the vaccine eligibility to more than 200,000 Utah at that time, based on recent Utah Department of Health population data provided to KSL.com.

“This is really important news,” said Pavia, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Primary Children’s Hospital. In an online briefing with the media A few hours after the study was published.

“It’s important news for at least three reasons. The first is to protect children. This is the most important reason,” he continued. “Children are often said to be less ill than adults and less likely to be hospitalized or have serious consequences, which is terrible with a hint of praise.”

Pavia noted that there are still deaths associated with COVID-19 or MIS-C. This is a rare complication of COVID-19 that can occur in children.

The· List of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 246 children under the age of 17 who died from COVID-19-related causes, and another 44 due to COVID-19 and pneumonia. This was added by Pavia, in addition to the “hundreds of thousands” of hospitalizations associated with it.

The· Utah Department of Health data The exact number is provided, except for at least one child between the ages of 1 and 14 who died of COVID-19-related complications out of a total of more than 2,100 deaths since March 2020. Is not … Also, 322 people are listed. Hospitalization of children under 14 years old.

Another reason why Wednesday’s news was important, Pavia said, is that children, especially teens, are the major spreaders and help states, and in fact the entire country, reach herd immunity. That said, you can’t do that without vaccination. Children.

“Vaccination can reduce the risk to family members and loved ones because they can interact with vulnerable people who cannot be vaccinated or the vaccine may not work, and there is no 100% effective vaccine. “He said. “And just because Grandma and Grandpa were vaccinated, this adds an important additional layer of protection.”

In terms of the meaning of herd immunity, the proportion of residents under the age of 18 in the state is well above the national average.The Census Bureau is still calculating official 2020 figures, 29% of the state’s population In 2019, he was under the age of 18, compared to 23% of the total population of the United States.

In 2019, Utah had 213,900 children between the ages of 12 and 15, according to data from the Utah Department of Health. Public health experts say that 70% to 90% of vaccinations are required to reach herd immunity.

“Once the vaccine is in the arms of people aged 12 to 16, we will be much closer to normal. It won’t happen until the FDA carefully reviews the data and issues an emergency use authorization.” Said Pavia. “Then the problem is getting the vaccine to people in those age groups, because it requires some important effort.”

Pavia is also excited about the announcement of Pfizer and BioNTech while he and other pedestrians are excited to be approved by the FDA through a rigorous process to ensure that it is safe. Said on Wednesday.

Second, there is the challenge of dealing with the hesitation that may already exist in the case of adults. Pavia has blamed some of the disinformation, misunderstandings, and in the extreme case, disinformation that could be the result of intentional misinformation from others.

As vaccines become more widely available in the coming weeks and months, children may be able to get vaccinated in clinics and clinics. This gives parents the opportunity to discuss vaccine questions and concerns one-on-one with family providers, Pavia explained.

Another important item addressed on Wednesday was equal access to vaccines. This can be more difficult for some Utah families than for others, Pavia said. That’s why he praised the state’s recent vaccine “fairness roadmap” program by Vice Governor Daedra Henderson. Announced earlier this month.. This plan was created as a way to make the vaccine accessible to all Utahn.

“We have to tell our parents that our children have real interests, our families have real interests, and our communities have real interests,” Pavia said. “We need to get that comfort from reliable sources. For many families, the most reliable sources are their doctors, their providers.”

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