Top Line
Three recent studies have shown that Covid vaccines are effective in children and pregnant people and that side effects such as myocarditis or pericarditis are extremely rare, even as many children remain unimmunized against the coronavirus.
School-going children stand in a line, all wearing masks.
important facts
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that myocarditis and pericarditis — inflammation of the heart and outer layer of the heart, respectively — are rare reactions that can occur after receiving any vaccine, including those from Pfizer or Moderna Covid, in teenagers and young adults. Vaccines are included. , and it can be developed by contracting the coronavirus itself.
A new study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics looked at more than three million children between the ages of 5 and 17 who received nearly six million vaccine doses, and found a rare rate of 39.4 cases of myocarditis or pericarditis per million doses in that age range, and the age of the children No incidence occurred in 5 to 11 years of age.
a january JAMA Pediatrics The analysis examined 17 different studies and found that two mRNA-based vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) were safe for use in children aged five to 11 years, with a risk of developing myocarditis of 1.8 per million doses. With the risk of, and were protected from severe symptoms, hospitalization, development of other diseases.
A separate study published on Friday jama network open Found that Covid bivalent boosters—or updated vaccine shots for a recent coronavirus variant—avoided more than five million missed days in five- to 17-year-olds and 10,000 hospitalizations in zero to 17-year-olds could, if they were to be widely adopted as a flu vaccine.
If bivalent boosters were less widely adopted than flu shots, but more widely adopted than they are now—as in less than 20% of the US population has received a booster—they would be five to 17 more Could prevent about three million missed days of school in about 1,400 children. Hospitalizations occurred in people ages zero to 17, the same study found.
Another study published on Friday jama network open investigated a possible link between Covid vaccines given during pregnancy and spontaneous abortion and found that there was no association.
The CDC has acknowledged the effectiveness of the vaccines in all approved age groups, and all vaccines currently in use have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.
big number
32.9%. According to the CDC, the share of American children ages five to 11 who had received their primary vaccination series as of early May is lower than the national rate of 69.5%. Younger children are even less likely to be vaccinated—some 6.1% of children aged two to four have been vaccinated, as well as 4.7% of children under two—although 12 to 17 61.8% children of the year have received the Kovid-19 vaccine.
Vaccines Available for Children
The Food and Drug Administration has either approved or given emergency authorization to three coronavirus vaccines for use in children:
- Pfizer-BioNTech The vaccine covers children from six months to 17 years. It was granted emergency authorization for use in children aged five to 11 in October 2021 and for those six months to four years in June 2022. For children aged six months to four years and 12 to 17 years, three shots should be given, and two shots are recommended for children aged five or six to 11 – the spacing for shots varies by age group it occurs.
- Modern’s The vaccine covers children from six months to 17 years. This vaccine was given emergency authorization in June 2022. Moderna’s vaccine requires two shots four to eight weeks apart for children of all ages.
- of Novavax The vaccine is approved only for children 12 years of age and older. It was granted emergency authorization for this age group in August 2022. This vaccine requires two doses three to eight weeks apart.
How do Covid vaccines work?
There are three different types of Covid vaccine approved in the US, all of which work in different ways. The first is Johnson & Johnson’s Viral Vector Vaccine, which is only approved for use in adults. This vaccine uses a harmless, modified version of a different virus from the same family as the common cold, not the one that causes COVID. It is injected into the body and delivers the DNA to the cells of the body. The DNA then tells the cells to make copies of the spike protein that is on the Covid virus, which helps the immune system look for similar proteins and produce antibodies to fight the virus that causes Covid. Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. These vaccines use mRNA, which helps instruct the body’s cells, to make small parts of the Covid virus that trigger an immune response in the body. Lastly, Novavax’s protein subunit vaccine contains fragments of the spike protein found on the coronavirus and an adjuvant, which helps the immune system respond to the spike protein. Once the immune system learns to react to the spike protein, it is able to make antibodies and attack the virus.
tangent line
As vaccination rates among children have declined, some high-profile commentators have raised doubts about vaccines – despite studies demonstrating their safety for most children. Podcaster Joe Rogan infamously said in 2021 that young, healthy people should not get Covid vaccines. Meanwhile, Politico reports that Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo was recently criticized by members of the medical community for altering a state-run Covid study to suggest Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccines, which Young men were more dangerous than previous findings suggested.
Further reading
Covid vaccines: Here’s proof they work—despite persistent misinformation—with side effects and common misconceptions (Forbes)
Covid is no longer a public health emergency: Here’s how it could affect you (Forbes)
Source: www.forbes.com
