Do children with Covid-19 need to be vaccinated?

According to our records over the past time, the number of families bringing their children infected Covid-19 Visits to children’s hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City skyrocketed.

Vietnam has decided to buy 21.9 million doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children 5-11 years old. However, this campaign has not been implemented yet. As many children have contracted Covid-19, families consider whether to vaccinate their children.

Even if you have Covid-19 you should still get vaccinated

Talking to reporters, Dr. Pham Quang Thai, deputy head of the Department of Infectious Diseases Control, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that vaccination for children is not too different from that of adults.

“Even if they have Covid-19, children still need to be vaccinated against this disease,” he affirmed.

Children with Covid-19 in Ho Chi Minh City were taken to the doctor by their family. Photo: Quynh Danh.

When the unvaccinated group is naturally infected with nCoV, the immunity will not be good enough due to the immune evasion mechanism of SARS-CoV-2. From here, vaccination in children, whether infected with nCoV or not, helps the body create better immunity, thereby preventing future re-infections.

Dr. Thai added: “If you have been vaccinated but unfortunately contracted the virus, the immunity created after that will be very strong. On the other hand, with the case that has been infected with nCoV and continues to receive additional injections, the immunity is also very good at this time. Therefore, we do not need to consider whether we have been infected with the virus or not to decide to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.”

Regarding the time to vaccinate after recovering from Covid-19, the expert said at the first time SARS-CoV-2 attack the body, they leave low immunity. Therefore, this is the basis for the risk of reinfection to occur.

“In the new guidelines, we no longer have to wait 6 months after recovering from the disease to get the next dose of the vaccine. Children should be vaccinated against Covid-19 as soon as they recover from the disease. This will help strengthen immunity, contributing to limiting the risk of re-infection and post-Covid-19 sequelae.”Mr. Thai said.

According to the deputy head of the Department of Infectious Disease Control, some children recovered from Covid-19 but a few months later appeared sequelae of the virus disease causing multi-organ damage. The genetic material they leave behind can cause reactions in multiple organs.

However, this expert also noted that it is necessary for the child to fully recover before receiving the injection. The reason is that it is possible that other post-Covid-19 problems will be confused with post-injection reactions.

The effectiveness of the vaccine when reducing the dose for children

According to the latest guidance from the Ministry of Health in early March, children 5-11 years old will be vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine, but each dose is only 0.2 ml, containing 10 mcg of Covid-19 mRNA vaccine.

Previously, the Ministry of Health did not clearly divide the injection group, only prescribed a dose of 0.3 ml and contained 30 mcg of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine.

According to Dr. Pham Quang Thai, the immune system of children in this age group is immature but quite sensitive. This group has also been vaccinated with many other vaccines such as leukemia, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, measles, rubella,… Therefore, the children had time to practice with new agents.

Medical staff measure heart rate and temperature of children at the National Children’s Hospital (Hanoi). Photo: Thach Thao.

“With the Covid-19 vaccine, the manufacturer has researched and tested to give just the right amount to help the child’s body develop immunity, while not affecting health.”he said.

Besides, with the weight of children at this age, the phenomenon of immune deposition, if it occurs, will also be very small and almost unaffected. This is also why the problem of myocarditis in children 5-11 years old in vaccine clinical trials is very rare, almost non-existent when compared with adults.

In addition, during field implementation, the number of cases of myocarditis was only 1/1 million doses, 20 times lower than that of older children and young adults. These cases, when detected, also respond well to therapy and are safe.

The updated content of the Department of Health also coincides with recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Accordingly, the Covid-19 vaccine for children 5-11 years old has the same active ingredients as adults and adolescents.

The dose of the Covid-19 vaccine also does not change by weight but depends on the age of the person being injected.

Specifically, the dose for children aged 5-11 is also 0.2 ml with 10 mcg of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, 1/3 of the dose for adults and children 12 years of age and older (30 mcg in 0. 3 ml). In addition, children in this age group are also allowed to use smaller needles.

Regarding the ability to prevent nCoV infection when injected with low doses, Dr. Thai said that the vaccine helps the body to practice, so that if the child is unfortunately infected with the virus, the child will quickly eliminate them.

He gave the example of a person who has not been vaccinated vaccines, the virus elimination process can be up to 14 days without returning negative. Meanwhile, children after vaccination may only be positive for about 5-7 days, up to 10 days.

“Children also play a large part in the transmission chain of SARS-CoV-2, when symptoms are so fleeting that we go unnoticed.

The shortening of the positive time means the transmission time is also shortened, bringing safety to the community, especially the elderly. From here, translation will also be limited.” Thai Dr.

According to Zing