Tomorrow, vaccination against COVID-19 for children from 5 to under 12 years old-Life Health

Tomorrow (April 14) the first 6th graders will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in a campaign lasting from now until around August. Quang Ninh is the first locality to launch a COVID-19 vaccination campaign -19 for children from 5 to under 12 years old. In the next week, the vaccination campaign for this group of children will be carried out simultaneously across the country.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Thi Hong, Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said today (April 13) that COVID-19 vaccine Moderna for children aged 5 to under 12 years will complete the testing. This is the lot Vaccine The first with nearly 1 million doses donated by the Australian Government to Vietnam over the weekend. Immunization will be performed for children in grade 6, then the age will be gradually reduced and children will be vaccinated at a younger age. Localities deploy brochures according to schools and locations, based on the epidemic situation and the number of vaccines provided. For each batch of vaccine and each group of children, the Ministry of Health will have specific instructions.

At a press conference on COVID-19 vaccination for children from 5 to under 12 years old today, Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, said according to a survey of 63 people provinces and cities, an estimated 11.8 million children from 5 to under 12 years old need vaccination.

Of these, it is estimated that 3.6 million children have had COVID-19 and 8.2 million children are not yet infected with COVID-19. “The first batch will vaccinate children who have not yet contracted COVID-19 and receive 2 full doses of the vaccine. It is expected that in July to August, all children from 5 to under 12 years old who are eligible for vaccination will be vaccinated,” said Dr. Lan.

There are currently two COVID-19 vaccines given to children aged 5 to under 12 years: the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine. The interval between 2 injections is 4 weeks. The Ministry of Health requires only 2 injections of the same vaccine, not mixed with any mRNA vaccine.

Regarding the reaction after vaccination against COVID-19 for children from 5 to under 12 years old, Associate Professor Hong said that the post-injection reactions for children aged 5 to 12 years old were similar to those for the group of 12 to under 18 years old. Specifically, the injector may experience headache, diarrhea, joint pain, muscle pain, pain at the injection site, exhaustion, chills, fever (higher frequency for the 2nd dose), swelling at the injection site. injection, exhaustion, headache, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, and chills.

“When the children are really healthy, families should take their children to be vaccinated. When children have symptoms of suspected COVID-19 infection, or are tired, or have respiratory tract infections, avoid taking them to the injection site. Parents, please fully share the health status of the child with the medical staff before giving the injection to ensure the safety of the child” – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Duong Thi Hong.

The most common reactions in the age group from 5 to under 12 years old are: Nausea, redness at the injection site; Uncommon reactions are lymphadenopathy, hypersensitivity reactions (rash, pruritus, urticaria, angioedema), decreased appetite, insomnia, lethargy, increased sweating, night sweats, pain extremities, weakness, discomfort, itching at the injection site; Very rare reactions are myocarditis, pericarditis (less than 1 in 10,000).

Regarding vaccination for children who were once F0, Dr. Le Kien Ngai, Head of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control (National Children’s Hospital), said that parents need to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19 after 3 months of being infected. “Children who have had COVID-19 can still get it again. Once a child has COVID-19, there is a risk of severe disease, possibly death, post-COVID-19 conditions and other complications. To ensure the safety of children’s COVID-19 vaccination, especially when they have had COVID-19 before, based on scientific evidence as well as published experience of countries that have implemented vaccination. COVID-19 vaccine for children,” said Dr. Ngai.

During the injection process, parents also pay attention to interacting with the injection staff to know what vaccines their children are receiving and what side effects may be. After vaccination, children need to stay at the vaccination site for 30 minutes, and parents continue to monitor their child’s health for at least 3 days. The usual side effects can appear 4-8 hours after injection, progress in the first 2 days and gradually decrease. If you see a child with fever, rash, difficulty breathing, cyanosis, fatigue, lethargy or see the usual symptoms increase in severity, parents need to take their child to the nearest medical facility.