Worldwide the coronavirus continues to be one of the most discussed and widespread topics, above all because it shows no sign of diminishing the concern for certain categories. If before the elderly were the ones we all looked at carefully, now children risk being those most at risk.
Alarmism aside, which never does well in an attempt at information, it is the reality of numbers that frightens. The American case is emblematic: the 26% of the Covid cases in the last month concern people under 21 years old, that is, those in school. In Europe, the figures are not all that different.
Speaking of this increase, the CEO of Moderna, Stephane Bancel, he said that soon they will be able to vaccinate even children from 5 to 11 years and, subsequently those you give 6 months and up, therefore to immunize the whole population and prevent the mutation of the virus.
Modern: after the data, vaccination
Data on the administration of vaccines to the youngest, i.e. children between 5 and 11 years old, are expected for October (Pfizer-BioNTech) and November (Moderna). To make it known is theEMA (European Medicines Agency) which will have to analyze them and give an opinion on the feasibility.
In fact, it seems increasingly necessary to know the results of the studies of the producers of the two vaccines, especially now that the data on the circulation of the virus in minors appear more relevant.
The CEO of Moderna Stephane Bancel, who in his interview for the Swiss newspaper The New Zurich Times he hypothesized the end of the pandemic crisis after 2022, he stated that it will soon be possible to vaccinate even the smallest, in the 5-11 age range.
Moderna’s plan is barely outlined, but it provides at least two stages for the vaccination of the little ones. A first phase, which could start as early as the end of 2021, when the EMA will have analyzed the data from the studies, to vaccinate the 5-11 range. Subsequently, vaccination could also be activated newborns, to cover the range from 6 months to 4 years. To date, there is no certainty about this hypothetical vaccination plan.
The Delta variant infects even the smallest ones
In many countries the number of positive young people is growing strongly. Experts suspect that this data is linked to greater vaccination of adults, with the emergence of data on minors; but much of the blame for these numbers seems to be due to the reopening of schools.
This was the case for the United States, where last month’s data fluctuated between a 15% and a 26% positive in the 0-21 age group. But we must not look too far. Walter Ricciardi, president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), reported that in Slovakia they are considering an emergency vaccination for the little ones. Precisely because:
[…] Many go to intensive care, many have long Covid. And for children, the long-term damage is mostly to the nervous system.
Long Covid, too little discussed in Italy, is a symptomatic state that can last up to 7 months. Symptoms include:
- fatigue,
- malaise after mental and physical exertion,
- palpitations,
- cognitive problems,
- problems related to the menstrual cycle,
- hallucinations,
- diarrhea,
- tinnitus,
- changes in taste and smell.
To date, the Delta variant has a value of transmissibility equal to 7, in third place in a hypothetical scale of most transmissible viruses, in second place we would find chicken pox and in first place measles. Covid-19 risks (and is already considered a more than likely scenario) of becoming that disease for which, without thinking too much about the consequences, “parties” will be held to overcome the disease from an early age, a bit like yes once did with chickenpox.