SA’s Paediatric Association is expected to welcome the Health Department’s decision to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to high-risk children aged 5-11, and those susceptible to severe illness or even death, based on the recommendations of its scientific advisers.
This subgroup includes children with HIV, tuberculosis, diabetes, severe asthma, Down Syndrome, and a range of other chronic conditions, reports Business Day.
Nicholas Crisp, the department’s deputy director-general for National Health Insurance, who also oversees the COVID-19 vaccination programme, said the process would begin once the electronic vaccine data system used to track the national immunisation drive had been updated
The Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 vaccination (VMAC) said eligible children should be given two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and recommended they receive half the adult dose, pending regulatory approval of a paediatric formulation.
It was unclear how much demand there would be for vaccines in this age group, as take-up had generally been low in other countries due to concerns about side effects and overall benefits, said the VMAC.
In the 12-17 age group, which was permitted to get jabbed without parental content, uptake had also been extremely low. Only 11.6% of children in this group had received the two shots for which they are eligible. Although 1.9m in the group had received their first jab, only 770 428 got their second, according to government figures.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Pfizer jab less effective in children aged 5-11 than in adolescents
Phaahla’s move on jabs for 12-year-olds without parental consent ruffles feathers
FDA authorises Pfizer COVID booster for children aged 5-11
ACDP applies for interdict to halt vaccine roll-out to children aged 12-17