How countries are implementing Covid-19 vaccination for children.
Many countries around the world are vaccinating children aged 12-15 and under 12 to protect young people from Covid-19; however, some countries have not yet been able to implement this due to supply shortages.
As schools reopen, Covid-19 restrictions ease, and the Delta variant continues to spread globally, parents are concerned about how best to protect their underage children.vaccination.
Previous data suggested that children were at low risk of developing severe Covid-19. However, the emergence of the Delta variant has changed that situation.
Many high-income countries, such as the United States and most European Union (EU) countries, which have been vaccinating children aged 12 and older against Covid-19, are now allowing vaccination for younger age groups. Meanwhile, vaccine inequality persists globally. In some countries still struggling to administer the first and second doses to high-risk individuals, childhood vaccination remains a distant dream.
Countries vaccinate children under 12 years old.
Cuba became the first country in the world to vaccinate children as young as two years old against Covid-19 in October. The Cuban government uses domestically produced vaccines and says they are safe for young children. Cuba's initial plan was to focus vaccinations on healthcare workers, the elderly, and those living in areas heavily affected by the pandemic. Later, due to the increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections among children because of the rapidly spreading Delta variant, the country also prioritized vaccinating children so that schools could reopen safely.
Throughout the pandemic, most in-person classes in Cuba were suspended. Instead, students primarily learned through educational television programs, as many families still lacked internet access.
Chile, China, El Salvador, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also approved vaccines for young children. In Chile, children aged 6 and older can receive the Sinovac vaccine, while in China, Sinovac and CoronaVac vaccines are permitted for children under 3 years old. In El Salvador, children under 6 may soon be vaccinated. In the UAE, where the Sinopharm vaccine is approved for children from 3 years old, the government says vaccination is not mandatory.
In the U.S., children aged 5-11 could be eligible for the vaccine this fall, after approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Pfizer's CEO said the company plans to submit vaccine data from studies involving the 5-11 age group by the end of October.
Countries vaccinate children aged 12-15.
The UK is being much more cautious than many other European countries when it comes to vaccinating children. Children in England aged 12-15 will be eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine, according to advice from health officials.
In late May, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine for children aged 12-15, based on a trial showing that the immune response in that age group was comparable to that in people aged 16-25. The EMA approved the Moderna vaccine for children aged 12-15 in late July.
France, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Poland are among the EU countries that have launched vaccination campaigns for children aged 12-15.
Switzerland has been vaccinating children since June.
Sweden will begin vaccinating children aged 12-15 by the end of autumn, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced.
Meanwhile, the UK currently has no plans to vaccinate children under 12, according to Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer.
Mr. Whitty said that vaccinating children aged 12-15 is being done with the hope of reducing the spread of the virus in schools. However, he noted that vaccination is not a “silver bullet” and that measures to mitigate the spread of the disease need to be maintained. Currently, UK health authorities recommend one dose of the vaccine for children aged 12-15.
Countries are facing difficulties in vaccinating children.
While more than 42% of the global population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, only 1.9% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. Therefore, billions of people worldwide remain at risk of contracting and dying from Covid-19.
Haiti only received its first vaccine doses in July, with 500,000 doses donated by the US through the COVAX program. To date, less than 1% of Haiti's 11.4 million inhabitants, nearly a third of whom are under 14 years old, have been vaccinated.
Although no country has yet completely eliminated Covid-19 vaccination for children, vaccine hesitation among policymakers may play a significant role in countries that appear uncertain about vaccinating their children.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, just over 120,000 doses of vaccine have been administered, equivalent to less than 0.1% of the country's 90 million population being vaccinated. In September, the Democratic Republic of Congo received 250,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine donated by the US through COVAX.
However, skepticism about vaccines remains high in this Central African nation.
In March, more than 1.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in Kinshasa, but the government delayed the rollout of the vaccine following reports of rare blood clots after vaccination. The country subsequently sold approximately 75% of the vaccine shipment.
The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, has been vaccinated against Covid-19 and said, “By doing this, I want to show the people that vaccination is truly necessary and there is no need to worry.” President Tshisekedi said that his wife had also been vaccinated and urged others to get vaccinated because “this saves lives.”
The change in messaging could help boost vaccination rates in the coming months. However, it remains unclear how this will impact childhood vaccinations in a country still rife with misinformation about vaccines, and where, earlier this year, around 70% of healthcare workers said they would not vaccinate.
