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Coronavirus: Paediatrician calls for vaccination of under-fives

file photo: covid 19 vaccinations for vulnerable children aged 5 11, in les pavillons sous bois
File photo

Infants are at danger from Covid-19 and should be vaccinated, as there is a small chance that they could die from the virus, head of the paediatric clinic at the Makarios hospital said on Wednesday.

The comments from Avraam Elia came as drug companies Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE began the regulatory approval process in the US on Tuesday for their Covid-19 vaccines for children under the age of five.

“Are infants at danger from Covid-19 and should they be vaccinated? The answer is that they are in danger although it’s not only the immediate danger but also the burden of going to hospital,” Elia told SigmaLive on Wednesday.

He was asked whether there are any side effects amongst infants from the vaccine.

“There are no side effects,” he said, arguing that they are given lower doses than those administered to older age groups.

Stressing the importance of vaccinating young children, Elia said that there is also a small chance that the infant could die from Covid-19 or even fall ill with the MIS-C syndrome, “so yes, even infants should get vaccinated,” he added.

Multisytem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) was first identified back in April 2020 in the US and UK. The condition is described as uncommon but serious.

Elia said that there were recently two children being treated for MIS-C at his clinic, one of whom had severe symptoms and required ICU care.

The syndrome is an inflammatory reaction in the body about four weeks after infection with the Sars-CoV-2 virus. The initial symptoms often include fever, rashes, red eyes, diarrhea and vomiting, and may get worse over a few days. The inflammation can affect the heart, blood vessels and other organs, which can make some children very ill and in need of urgent care.

He said that since the beginning of the pandemic the clinic has treated about 250 children with Covid-19, of whom about a third were infants.

On Tuesday, the drug companies said they are asking the FDA for authorisation of the first two doses of a planned three-dose regimen.

“If two doses are authorised, parents will have the opportunity to begin a Covid-19 vaccination series for their children while awaiting potential authorisation of a third dose,” Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla said.

The move could speed up the inoculation timeline for this age group by months. If a third dose is eventually authorised, many children could already have begun the regimen. Pfizer is currently testing two doses three weeks apart, followed by a third dose at least eight weeks later.

In December, Pfizer said it was amending its clinical trial to test a three-dose version of the vaccine because the lower-dose generated an immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds that was inferior to the response measured in those aged 16 to 25. In 6- month- to 24-month-old children, the vaccine generated an immune response in line with 16- to 25-year-olds.

John Grabenstein, former executive director of medical affairs for vaccines at Merck, said he believes regulators should consider the vaccine as a two-dose course, rather than as the first two doses of a planned three dose regimen.

“I cannot think of any example ever where the FDA reached a regulatory decision without knowing the data from the end of the trial,” Grabenstein said. “I just can’t believe that they would authorise getting started without knowing what the third dose would do.”

But John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College, said the plan “sounds like a creative solution to a real problem, and there’s no safety implications, which would otherwise be a dealbreaker.”

 

 

 

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