"Vaccinate every child against COVID-19": A scientific or socioeconomic need?
Sanjana Agrawal1, Sonal Dayama1, Abhiruchi Galhotra2
1School of Public Health, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
Insights
COVID-19 vaccination for children is crucial to reduce virus spread and long-term health impacts. Given challenges, prioritizing vaccines for chronically ill children in India is a feasible initial strategy.
Area of Science:
- Global Health
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Vaccinology
Background:
- COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant global mortality, including over 10,000 child deaths.
- Limited time frame for vaccine development and availability for the general population.
- Concerns regarding the long-term health, developmental, and behavioral effects of COVID-19 on children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the global and Indian context of COVID-19 vaccination for children.
- To evaluate the feasibility of different vaccination strategies for pediatric populations.
- To address the challenges and propose solutions for child vaccination in India.
Main Methods:
- Review of global COVID-19 case and mortality data, including pediatric statistics.
- Analysis of available pediatric COVID-19 vaccine candidates and their regulatory approvals.
- Examination of national vaccination programs and progress, particularly in India.
- Assessment of challenges in child vaccination and school reopening.
Main Results:
- Over 0.26 billion COVID-19 cases and 5.2 million deaths reported globally by December 2021.
- Approximately 10,000 children and adolescents died from COVID-19, with a 0.3% case fatality rate.
- Several countries have initiated child vaccination, aiming to reduce transmissibility and mutations.
Conclusions:
- Child vaccination is vital for controlling COVID-19 spread and mitigating long-term impacts.
- India faces significant challenges in achieving widespread child vaccination.
- A "vaccine for the chronically ill" approach is proposed as a feasible initial strategy for Indian children.
Abstract:
The global pandemic of COVID-19 has created havoc worldwide. By the first week of December 2021, 0.26 billion COVID-19 infected cases and 5.2 million deaths have been reported globally.[1] United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) reports that more than 10,000 children and adolescents have died from COVID-19, with a case fatality rate of 0.3%. Out of 299 vaccine candidates, 28 are available to the general population in less than 1 year.[2] For children, WHO permitted vaccine Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinovac, and Sinopharm, Drug Controller General of India's approved ZyCov-D and Covaxin, and the Cuban government approved Soberna 2, and Soberna plus are available.[3] Italy, Germany, France, Norway, Switzerland, Israel, Dubai, Japan, Canada, and the US have already started vaccinating their children. This step may decrease the transmissibility and mutations of the virus and thus restore normalcy. For India, it is a question of "To be or not to be?" Indian researchers have warned of the long-term impact of the pandemic on the health, development, learning, and behavior of children, thus pushing the agenda of vaccination and opening of schools. All attempts at opening schools have failed in the last 2 years. Vaccinating children is not easy as it has taken nearly 1 year to vaccinate half of the adult Indian population. In these circumstances, rather than "vaccine for all," "vaccine for (chronically) ill" is the only feasible solution for children.
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