Covid vaccine for children aged 5-11, what you need to know. “Although to a lesser extent than in adults, Sars-CoV-2 infection is also present in childhood it can pose health risks, so much so that about 6 out of 1,000 children are hospitalized and about 1 out of 7,000 in intensive care “, recalls the Higher Institute of Health in the analysis published on the website ‘Covid vaccination for children: what to know‘.
“Even in cases (and fortunately they are the vast majority) in which the infection proceeds in an almost completely asymptomatic manner, it is not possible to exclude the occurrence of complications such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome (a rare but serious disease that affects many organs at the same time), and what is defined as ‘long Covid’, that is, the appearance of undesirable effects after some time “, reads the insights of the ISS.
Why vaccinate children
Is vaccinating children aged 5-11 useless? False because “even if to a lesser extent than in adults, in childhood Sars-CoV-2 infection can pose health risks”. And also because “in the benefit of a vaccination one must also consider not only protection from the disease, but also the possibility of attending school with greater safety and leading a social life characterized by recreational and educational elements that are particularly important for development psychic and personality in this age group “. This is the response of the Higher Institute of Health to the fake news ‘Children don’t get Covid and if they get sick they don’t die, they experience mild symptoms and have low ability to transmit the virus. It is useless to vaccinate ‘.
Even children get sick
The numbers confirm that the claim that children do not get sick is totally unfounded. “Since the beginning of the epidemic in the 6-11 year range – we read on the ISS website – there have been over 263 thousand cases, 1453 hospitalizations in ordinary wards, 36 ICU admissions and 9 deaths, from the data as of December 1st. In recent weeks, the number of infections in this age group has clearly increased “. Against this background, the vaccine” has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of infection by about 91% “.
Vaccine and side effects
As for side effects “as with all drugs and vaccines, even those developed against Covid present a risk of side effects. The safety of Covid vaccines is continuously monitored by regulatory agencies around the world, and even for the youngest groups the risk of serious adverse events it was very rare. The risk of adverse events must be compared with that of incurring the consequences of the infection, and it is on this basis that the risk-benefit ratio is calculated by the regulatory agencies. Ema, the European regulatory agency on medicines has concluded that the balance between benefits and risks is also positive for the age group 5-11 years “.
Vaccine and immune system
“Babies’ immune systems are ‘programmed’ to react to possible dangers from birthto. The Covid vaccine, like the others, ‘teaches’ the immune system to recognize the infectious agent before actual exposure, thus helping to strengthen it. “This is the response of the Higher Institute of Health alla fake news: ‘Vaccines weaken children’s as yet undeveloped immune systems‘, in the in-depth study published on the website’ Anti Covid vaccination for children: what to know ‘.
The ISS also responds to the statement that ‘i vaccines facilitate inflammatory processes che causes changes in the blood of the little ones’. False why “There are no studies that have shown a correlation between the vaccine and this type of problem.” The notion that “the number of children participating in the clinical vaccine development program is too small to detect potential risks of vaccination-associated myocarditis” is also unfounded.
Vaccine: risks, benefits, safety
The Iss recalls, in fact, that “nand young subjects (adolescents and young adults) an increased risk of myocarditis and pericarditis has been reported but remains extremely low, at around 50 cases per million after two doses. Furthermore, in most cases, these manifestations have had an absolutely benign course. In general, younger children are at a lower risk of developing these conditions, and no cases have been reported in clinical trials. “The safety information available today concerns not only 3000 childreni who received the vaccine as part of the clinical trial, but also include the first data collected on the more than 3 million children aged 5-11 already vaccinated in the United States. The safety of the vaccine will in any case be kept under constant and close monitoring by all agencies in the world “.
Vaccine and painkillers
“It is not recommended to give pain medication before vaccination to try to prevent any side effects“. It is one of the indications of the Higher Institute of Health, which has published online a close-up on the vaccination against Covid-19 for children aged 5-11, to clarify the doubts of parents and dismantle various fake news. Before vaccination , these the advice of the expertsi: “Talk to the child before the vaccination to explain well what he is going to do; report any allergy episodes the child has had to the vaccinator. To prevent trauma due to fainting during vaccination, the child must sit or lie down”.
And after the vaccine? “After vaccination, you will be asked to wait 15-30 minutes under observation before leaving the vaccination center to monitor the possible appearance of allergic reactions and, if necessary, to be able to intervene promptly”, explains the ISS. What are the main side effects? “Pain, redness and swelling may occur in the arm where the injection was given. Symptoms such as tiredness, headache, body aches, chills, fever and nausea may also occur. These symptoms are usually mild and resolve within 1-2 days “.