Do Children Need to Vaccine Covid-19 in Malaysia? — Amar Singh HSS | What You Think

June 6 — A recent statement by the Minister and Health Director on Coronavirus Disease and Child Severity has worried many parents. Between January 25, 2020 and May 30, 2021, 82,341 children were reported infected with Covid-19. The majority will occur in 2021. The infection occurred in children of all ages, including 19,851 people under the age of five.

The director of the Ministry of Health (MOH) also reported that three children under the age of five died in the first five months of 2021. 19 of them are under 5 years old.

We have taken all precautions to prevent infection in children, but we need to ask ourselves if we should consider vaccination of children against Covid-19. Some issues to consider for risk and benefit are discussed below.

How Serious Is Covid-19 in Children? Does the Vaccine Benefit Children?

An important determinant of vaccination is the severity of the disease. According to available data, most children infected with Covid-19 have mild or asymptomatic illnesses and rarely become severely ill. A rare and severe complication of Covid-19 in children is multisystem inflammatory syndrome.Ah Comparison of mortality rates in 7 countries It is estimated that 1.7 out of 1 million children died when infected with Covid-19. Adolescents appear to have a higher mortality rate than younger children. The local assessment of our death is Posted in Code Blue Mortality rates for children aged 0-4 and 13-17 were both shown to be higher than in elementary school (the analysis is limited due to the low number of deaths). However, it should be remembered that in this pandemic, parents protect their children from Covid-19 infection as much as possible, which can underestimate infection and mortality.

There is New report Covid-19 causes serious illness in Brazilian infants, killing more than 2,200 people under the age of 10. This, unlike any other country, reflects a new variant of concern that causes more serious illness. It may be.

Yes Increasing evidence It Children can suffer Due to the infection from the new coronavirus infection, I am not feeling well for several months after the infection. More data and work is needed to determine the scale and severity of this problem in children.

Is the Covid-19 vaccine safe for children?

Is Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Has shown good efficacy against Covid-19 in children aged 12 to 15 years, as a result of a Phase 3 preliminary study. Shinovak Announced that the vaccine is safe for children aged 3 to 17 years. AstraZeneca and other vaccine companies are testing children aged 6 to 17 years. Before using such vaccines in children, the National Institute of Health Sciences must approve their use based on available data. Vaccine safety signals should be constantly monitored and action should be taken early if they occur.

Clinical trial data on the safety and efficacy of some Covid-19 vaccines in children are emerging, but recognize that very rare side effects are not seen until the vaccine is used in a large population. Must be. Rare side effects in young people with Oxford / AstraZeneca (thrombosis) and Pfizer / BioNTech (myocarditis) were recognized only when the population was vaccinated.

Is it beneficial to family and society?

Although children are rarely ill, we find that Covid-19 has serious consequences for adults, especially the elderly and adults with chronic illness. We also recognize that children can spread Covid-19 to adults. No one knows the percentage of the population that needs to be vaccinated before stopping the spread of Covid-19 (herd immunity) to the community, but it turns out to be difficult without vaccination of children.

I recently wrote about Can you get herd immunity?About 30% of the population is under the age of 18. Some Malaysians choose not to be vaccinated. Others get sick or are contraindicated for vaccination. Another factor is the large population of economic migrants and refugees. Therefore, unless children aged 12 to 18 years are vaccinated, the Covid-19 vaccination rate of the population cannot be adequately secured.

Keep in mind that children are not a vaccination priority until all enthusiastic adults are first vaccinated. This includes older people, people with chronic illnesses, young adults who make up our workforce, and migrant workers.

What are other countries doing?

The table below summarizes the reactions of several countries on the issue of vaccination of children. Many countries have approved its use and it is primarily intended for people over the age of 12.

However, there are global ethical issues with using the Covid-19 vaccine in children. Due to the limited supply of vaccines, the use of vaccines in children in rich countries (where many adults are already vaccinated) limits access to poor countries. World Health Organization (WHO) Currently not recommended Children should be vaccinated against Covid-19. WHO urges wealthy countries to reconsider vaccination of children / adolescents and donate vaccines to low- and middle-income countries that lack sufficient supply to immunize even medical staff ..

Overview

Pandemics affect all of us, including those who are not infected. We need to address these issues as parents and as a society when deciding to vaccinate children with the new coronavirus. How effectively the epidemic in the region is controlled, and the spread and impact of mutants (mutations) also determine our response and decision on this issue.

In Malaysia, vaccination rates for people at high risk of aggravation and death (elderly and those with chronic illness) have not yet been seriously affected. No matter how much we want to help our children, it is imperative to encourage the most at-risk people to be vaccinated before they are vaccinated. In addition, it is essential to vaccinate young people on the move at work, as it is an important factor in the pandemic. However, you should consider selectively vaccination of children with severe disabilities in home care, especially if you are at high risk of exposure to Covid-19.

My personal preference is not to have children vaccinated against Covid-19, but to control Covid-19 in the community, children aged 12 to 17 need to be vaccinated. There may be. Our recovery from Covid-19 means recovering children from the severe psychological tensions that are currently affecting them every day. Today, life lives on a “pause button” and vaccination is an important way to bring our society back to normal.

* Dato’Dr Amar-Singh HSS is a consultant pediatrician.

* This is the author’s personal opinion and does not necessarily represent the author’s opinion. Malay Mail.