Covid-19 Vaccination in Children

Covid-19 Vaccination in Children

Government of India launched the pediatric vaccination against COVID-19 for the age group 15 to 18 years from 3rd January 2022 onwards. Covaxin is the only vaccine currently available for this age group under the programme, to be given in a 2 dose schedule at 28 days interval.

Below are answers from an expert in pediatric infectious diseases, Dr. Dhanya Dharmapalan, to common queries related to this vaccination programme in children.

Is the vaccine safe for my child?

Yes, vaccine is safe in children. Vaccinations are approved for pediatric population by the regulatory authorities after a rigorous analysis of the safety profile of the vaccine. The only vaccine currently available in the programme i.e. Covaxin is also in use in adult population for a while with a good safety record. Covaxin has also received emergency use approval by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI)  for children over age 12. However, presently the vaccine has been rolled out only for age group 15 to 18 years.

If the COVID-19 disease is mild in children, then does my child need a vaccine?

Yes, COVID-19 is relatively a mild disease in children compared to adults. However, it is not mild in all children.  In the pediatric population, the age group 15 to 18 years has been found to have suffered from higher rates of hospitalisation and complications compared to younger age group. The vaccination programme has been prioritised for age group 15-18 years for the same reasons.

Even if the disease is mild, children who have co-morbid conditions such as chronic heart disease, neurological conditions, blood disorders, diabetes, obesity, immune compromised, chronic kidney/liver/respiratory disease, etc can have a more severe course of disease and need protection with a vaccine.

Few otherwise healthy children can suffer from a rare but life threatening complication of COVID-19 4-6 weeks after getting infected called as Multisystem Inflammatory Disease Syndrome (MISC). Prevention of COVID-19 infection is expected to reduce this complication of MISC.

Though vaccine may not prevent infection, it prevents severe course of illness in all individuals.

Children are known to spread the virus in the community. Therefore, vaccination of children will also reduce community transmission of the disease. Vaccinated people even if infected, eliminate the virus from their body more rapidly than unvaccinated individuals, therefore transmit far less. Thus the more vulnerable population is also indirectly benefitted along with younger siblings who are age-ineligible for vaccine.

India has one of the largest young population aged below 18 years in the world (about 35 to 40%). It is not possible to achieve herd immunity target of vaccinating 70% population by leaving this large population unvaccinated.

My child has cancer and is on immune suppressive drugs? Can the vaccine cause more harm?

Children who are immune suppressed are in greater need for protection against COVID-19. The vaccine currently available is not a live vaccine and can be offered safely to any child who is immunocompromised or on immune suppressive medicines such as nephrotic syndrome, post transplantation, etc.

What are the precautions to be taken for vaccination?

In case on the scheduled day of vaccination, child is already suffering from an acute illness, parents are advised to postpone the vaccination till full clinical recovery. As the vaccine does not completely protect against acquiring infection, COVID appropriate behaviour must continue despite taking the vaccine. Vaccine is not the only tool but an additional tool to masking, social distancing and hand hygiene for preventing COVID-19.

What are the side -effects expected after taking the COVID-19 vaccine?

The side-effects of currently available vaccine are generally mild such as fever, pain at the site of injection, body ache, fatigue and may last for 2-3 days. These symptoms of fever and pain can be easily managed at home with the help of paracetamol. Paracetamol is not to be given before vaccination to prevent fever but only as treatment if child develops high fever or severe body pain after receiving the vaccine.

Children need to be monitored for at least half an hour after the vaccine at the medical centre to manage an allergic reaction if it occurs.

In case, of any other health issue occurring in few weeks post vaccination, it is advised to seek medical attention.

There are rumours in social media that vaccination centres are offering expired vaccines to children. Can you explain?

Regulators approve initially a stringent shelf life period for vaccines and may relax this period after scrutiny of the real-time data of stability of the vaccine provided by the manufacturers.

Initially Covaxin was approved for 6 months and later extended to nine months in February 2021. With further availability of the data of its stability, the regulators had extended the shelf life of Covaxin from 9 months to 12 months in November 2021. Similarly, few other vaccines against COVID-19 have also received extension by the concerned regulatory authorities based on real time stability data.

Therefore, please be assured that the vaccines supplied in programme are not expired vaccines and are strictly being monitored by regulatory authorities.

Let us protect our families and the community with the valuable safety net that vaccination can provide against COVID-19.