Health
COVID vaccines are not needed for healthy kids and teens, says World Health Organization
Wholesome youngsters and teenagers possible don’t want COVID-19 vaccinations, in accordance with up to date steerage posted on the web site of the World Well being Group (WHO) on Tuesday.
WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Specialists on Immunization (SAGE) met final week to create a revised roadmap for COVID vaccinations.
The brand new roadmap defines three precedence teams — excessive, medium and low — based mostly on the “threat of extreme illness and demise” when contracting the virus.
Wholesome children between 6 months and 17 years previous at the moment are deemed low precedence.
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The company mentioned that for this group, “conventional important vaccines” for sicknesses like rotavirus, measles, polio and pneumococcal conjugate have a better affect.
Within the new roadmap, the company additionally launched up to date steerage on COVID booster doses.
Wholesome youngsters and teenagers possible don’t want COVID-19 vaccinations, in accordance with up to date steerage posted on the World Well being Group’s web site on Tuesday. (iStock)
“Up to date to replicate that a lot of the inhabitants is both vaccinated or beforehand contaminated with COVID-19, or each, the revised roadmap reemphasizes the significance of vaccinating these nonetheless at-risk of extreme illness, largely older adults and people with underlying situations, together with with further boosters,” said SAGE Chair Dr. Hanna Nohynek in a press launch on the WHO web site.
Youngsters who’ve compromised immune methods or current well being situations ought to nonetheless get the vaccine.
“International locations ought to contemplate their particular context in deciding whether or not to proceed vaccinating low-risk teams, like wholesome youngsters and adolescents, whereas not compromising the routine vaccines which can be so essential for the well being and well-being of this age group,” the physician continued.
WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Specialists on Immunization (SAGE) met final week to create a revised roadmap for COVID vaccinations. (Avishek Das/SOPA Photographs/LightRocket by way of Getty Photographs)
Within the press launch, SAGE encourages international locations to think about components together with “illness burden, cost-effectiveness, and different well being or programmatic priorities and alternative prices” when making choices about vaccine necessities for wholesome youngsters and teenagers.
Some youngsters ought to nonetheless get vaccine, WHO says
Youngsters who’ve compromised immune methods or current well being situations ought to nonetheless get the COVID vaccine because of the greater threat of extreme illness, the company mentioned.
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Moreover, it’s really helpful that infants below 6 months ought to obtain the vaccine as a consequence of burden of extreme COVID-19 results.
The steerage additionally requires pregnant ladies to be totally vaccinated for full safety of the mom and fetus.
Wholesome children between 6 months and 17 years previous at the moment are deemed “low precedence” for COVID vaccines, WHO says. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, medical professor of drugs at NYU Langone Medical Heart and a Fox Information medical contributor, agreed that youngsters and teenagers are decrease precedence for this vaccine except they’ve weight problems or different persistent sicknesses or are particularly in danger.
“The vaccine you had two or extra years in the past might have virtually fully worn off by now.”
“Nevertheless, this variation in prioritization is just not the identical factor as saying that they should not have the COVID vaccines,” he instructed Fox Information Digital.
What number of COVID photographs is sufficient?
“The query that has emerged not too long ago is what number of COVID photographs is sufficient,” Dr. Siegel continued.
“The issue with universities mandating it’s that the vaccine you had two or extra years in the past might have virtually fully worn off by now.”
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“Pure immunity following an infection should be included in counting immune safety, in addition to the quantity of COVID nonetheless round,” he added.
Moreover, vaccination has not too long ago been proven to lower dangers of lengthy COVID signs in all ages, Dr. Siegel identified.
“This implies vaccine stays a invaluable software,” he mentioned.
Final month, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) launched a number of updates to its youngster and adolescent immunization schedule, together with the addition of COVID-19 vaccines.