Covid vaccines for children and young people, what the experts say
Do children under 12 also need to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity? Debate among scientists. The Adnkronos article
The debate among experts is ignited on the anti-covid vaccine for children and young people under 12 years of age. In the US, the FDA has urged manufacturers to expand the audience for clinical studies on the efficacy of mRna vaccines in the 5-11 year range. According to some scientists, vaccinating children is a mandatory step in achieving herd immunity. Others, however, preach prudence.
“Considering the current state of the art, it does not seem to me that pressure elements are identified that would make pediatric anti-Covid vaccination a topic of significant interest, so much so as to make it a priority in prevention protocols. Unless they are children with a known history of diseases that require special attention especially on the immunological side or children who live with 'fragile' adults who are unable to get vaccinated ", says to Adnkronos Health the clinical immunologist and allergist Mauro Minelli. , coordinator for Southern Italy of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine. "Rather, the primary objective in the agendas of the bodies in charge remains the complete coverage of the entire adult population, considering that today in the population over the age of 60, there are still more than 2 million people never vaccinated and therefore at risk to contract the disease in a severe form, and just under 2 million with incomplete vaccination ”, remarks Minelli.
Virologist Francesco Menichetti also expresses "some perplexity about anti-Covid vaccines for very young children". “I still am not completely convinced that it is a qualifying target”, underlines the head of infectious diseases at the Pisa hospital. “Now we will see the data, the registration studies will be important however – clarifies Menichetti – even more important than the registration studies will be to clarify what the vaccination policy will be. If we want to achieve herd immunity and at what level ”. Because, explains the virologist, "we could already achieve important results if we put the 5 million over 50s and children aged 12 and over in safety to reopen schools". “In short – he reiterates – I would be a little cautious on the little ones”. The reason is always based on the risk / benefit ratio “which is usually lowered for children”. “That is – explains the doctor – even if the risk remains the same, it is more relevant with the decrease in age. If the epidemiology of Covid confirms this trend, it is right that the vaccination policy takes it into account ".
“I am not convinced that children are at risk or that they are the drivers of the infection. The drivers of the infection – says the head physician – are young unvaccinated adolescents and young adults, as we are seeing in recent weeks and months. It is true that an 11-year-old girl died yesterday, but she was a girl who had a very serious problem, therefore a fragile subject. I am referring to healthy children, the frail follow another path ”.
On the possibility of vaccinating children between 6 and 12 years of age against Covid, when there is authorization, “scientific evidence remains our guide. When these have shown us that the vaccine is effective and safe we can start vaccinations and, of course, we will be active and present in the vaccination campaign. As it was already in the age group between 12-16 years ”, explains Paolo Biasci, president of the Italian Federation of pediatricians (Fimp).
“Even when we waited for the validation of the 12-16 year old trials – continues Biasci – we expressed ourselves only after having known the experimental results, the possible side effects, the percentages of effectiveness and everything else. Without knowing these data today on the immunization of children, it is impossible to express oneself. We can hope that the results of the experimentation are positive. And that therefore there is an approval by the regulatory agencies, the EMA and then the Aifa for use under 12 years and when it will be, I don't think before the end of the year from the news we have, we will consider vaccination even in this age group ".
For adolescents over 12, “we started vaccination but we regret not being able to start the effective vaccination immediately, after the green light of the AIFA , because the Regions have created delays. We could have been more advanced in carrying out vaccinations ”.
The immunologist Paolo Rossi, of the Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital, expresses himself in favor of the vaccination of the under 12:
“If we want to fight this pandemic – he explains – and we want to return to a normal life we must achieve community immunity and if we leave the children out and do not vaccinate them we cannot achieve this community immunity. So I personally am in favor of vaccination and as an immunologist I would have also been in favor of compulsory vaccination because vaccines have saved the world. And in a situation like the one we are experiencing, I would have had no doubt ”.
“This virus is unfortunately extremely contagious and therefore – underlines Rossi – it infects as we know, even this age group quite easily. In most cases these children from one year up to 12-13 years do not have big problems, they have an infection without big consequences but they are super-diffusers so since they then have to go to school, being diffusers becomes a problem both for the school is for older people ".
“Now – recommends the pediatrician – we must immediately vaccinate children between the ages of 12 and 16, because at that age they also have symptoms and some are also important. While the concept of community is valid for the younger group, i.e. the risk / benefit ratio of the individual subject is still good, the vaccine does not have an important side effect but it is difficult to say that it prevents a serious disease on the child. However, if we leave them without vaccines, we will not be able to achieve this community immunity which is important for them, for school and for others ”.
“How to convince mothers? I would tell them that if they do not want their children to have the Invalsi level of first grade when they are in the sixth grade and if they want to avoid that the little ones infect the older ones they must be vaccinated. On the other hand, we vaccinate against everything because – he concludes – against Covid-19, don't we? ".
Massimo Galli is also on the same line of thought: “Once the studies have guaranteed the safety for the administration of the anti-Covid vaccine even to the under 12s, it will be inevitable to move to the immunization of the little ones. Because if all over the world we let the virus circulate among children, without any form of containment, we won't stop it anymore. Vaccinating everyone is the only way to stop it, ”says the director of Infectious Diseases at the Sacco hospital in Milan.
As for the concerns of parents, Galli recalls that, at all ages, "scientific observations suggest that the best thing, given its characteristics, is not to encounter this virus". And on the other hand, “the available vaccines have been used on tens of millions of people all over the world. And they have shown a very high safety margin, probably higher than that of vaccines previously used for other diseases ".
Furthermore, “the aim of reducing the circulation of the virus as much as possible is fundamental, both in terms of collective interests and individual interests. If someone is aiming to keep the children of others ahead to protect their own from those who believe the risks of vaccines – says Galli – know that, with the rapid spread of the Delta variant that also affects children, they cannot wait that their child does not become infected because they are protected by the vaccination of others. Personally, among the hypothetical risks linked to vaccination and the real risks linked to the disease, I choose vaccination ”.
Article published on adnkronos.com
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/vaccini-covid-a-ragazzi-e-bambini-cosa-dicono-gli-esperti/ on Sat, 14 Aug 2021 05:46:28 +0000.