Covid-19: should all children be vaccinated?

Vaccination of children is routine and widely accepted - measles, mumps, polio, diphtheria, rotavirus, several types of meningitis, whooping cough ... the list goes on. It all starts in just a few weeks.

What about Covid-19?

Some countries are making rapid progress - the United States has already vaccinated 600,000 children between the ages of 12 and 15. He expects to have enough safety data to be even younger next year.

The UK is turning to adults who should have given the first dose by the end of July, but have yet to make a decision about the children.

There is a scientific question - will vaccinating children save lives? - The answer is complex because it can differ from country to country. There is also a moral and ethical dimension if doses for children save more lives if given to health workers and vulnerable adults in other countries.

Very low risk of Covid in children

One of the arguments for not vaccinating children against Covid is that they see relatively little benefit from it.

"Fortunately, one of the few good things about this pandemic is that children are very rarely seriously affected by this infection," said Prof. Adam Finn, member of the United Kingdom Committee on Immunization and Immunization.

Infections in children are almost always mild or asymptomatic; this is in stark contrast to older groups for whom vaccination campaigns are a priority.

A study in seven countries published in The Lancet estimates that less than two out of every million children die with Covid during an epidemic.

Even children with medical conditions that would increase the risk of Covid infection in adults are not currently vaccinated in the UK. Vaccination is only advised for those with a “very high risk of exposure and serious consequences” - which may include older children with severe disabilities in residential care.

Vaccines are incredibly safe, but the risks and benefits still need to be carefully weighed.

Some countries may benefit from vaccinating children

There is another potential benefit of vaccinating children - it can save the lives of others.

This is already the approach used for the flu. British children between the ages of two and 12 receive a nasal spray every year, mainly to protect their grandparents.

One of the arguments is that the same treatment with Covid vaccines could contribute to increasing the immunity of the herd - the point at which the virus tries to spread because so many people are protected.

Covid vaccines appear to prevent the spread of the virus very well. Just one dose seems to reduce the chance of infecting the virus by at least half, and even those who are still half infected are less likely to transmit it.

It seems that children are not the main spreaders of the coronavirus, but older teenagers can still play a role.

Coronavirus, schools and children - what are the risks?

"There is conclusive evidence of transmission potential in high school, so vaccination can have an impact on overall transmission," said Dr. Adam Kucharski of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

But there is no universal answer to whether it pays off.

The UK immunization program is advancing rapidly and there have been major epidemics that have left immunity that can play a role.

More than a quarter of 16-year-olds in the UK have antibodies to coronavirus in their blood, despite few vaccinations.

Thus, the United Kingdom and similar countries may find that they have enough immunity to stop the spread of the virus without vaccinating children.

"The situation is very different in countries where there are not many epidemics and there is not so much adult coverage, and it is also very difficult without vaccinating young groups," said Dr. Kučarski.

Australia is a country struggling with vaccine hesitation, and places like New Zealand and Taiwan have covered the virus so well that there is virtually no immunity to the infection.

Is that morally acceptable?

It should be borne in mind who will not be vaccinated if a child is vaccinated for him.

The World Health Organization says rich countries should postpone plans to vaccinate children and donate them to the rest of the world. Professor Andrew Pollard, who led clinical trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, said it was "morally wrong" to give preference to children.

Professor Eleanor Riley, an immunologist at the University of Edinburgh, said: “There is a case of this and if there was an unlimited amount of vaccines we could go with those over 12, but that is not the case.

"Ultimately, it is a political decision to decide whether to give our children an advantage over adults who die in their herds elsewhere in the world."

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57203521