The World Health Organization revised its recommendations for the Covid vaccine and pointed out that healthy children and adolescents may not need an injection.
In guidelines released on Tuesday, the global health agency classified healthy young people as a “low priority” for the Covid vaccination.
The public health impact of vaccinating healthy children and adolescents is “much smaller than the established benefits of traditional essential childhood vaccines,” such as measles and polio vaccines.
The WHO has asked countries to consider that young people are unlikely to become seriously ill with Covid before recommending vaccination.
Meanwhile, the WHO is considering adding anti-obesity drugs to its list of “essential” drugs.
About 79 percent of US children have completed their first course of Covid vaccinations, while 20 percent have received an updated (bivalent) booster shot
The WHO also called for urgent efforts to make up for missed routine vaccinations during the pandemic
The Covid vaccines and boosters are said to be safe for all ages, but the guidelines took into account other factors such as cost-effectiveness.
It is defined as older adults and children with compromised immune systems who are recommended to receive a booster dose six to 12 months after their last vaccination.
DR Hanna Nohynek, Chair of the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE), said: “Countries must consider their specific contexts when deciding whether to continue vaccinating low-risk groups such as healthy children and adolescents, without jeopardizing routine vaccinations. which is so critical to the health and well-being of this age group.”
Of the 4.4 million Covid deaths worldwide in the MPIDR COVERAGE database, 0.4 percent (over 17,400) were in children under the age of 20.
In the US, 735 children under the age of four have died from Covid. About 500 children in the age groups 5-11 and 12-15 each died. About 365 teenagers between the ages of 16 and 17 have died from Covid.
Children have always had a demonstrably low risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid. In addition, while the vaccine reduces the risk of death and hospitalization, it does not prevent transmission.
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The WHO also called for urgent efforts to catch up on routine vaccinations missed during the pandemic and warned of an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in November that a record nearly 40 million children had missed their measles vaccine by 2021.
Vaccination rates for measles – one of the most contagious human viruses that is still completely preventable – have steadily declined since the start of the Covid pandemic.
Misinformation surrounding Covid vaccines has also led large sections of parents to oppose regular childhood vaccinations, despite the fact that vaccines are the most effective way to protect children from measles.
Last month, the CDC also officially added Covid shots to its list of routine vaccinations for children and adults.
It planned a basic course of two or three doses of the Covid vaccine and a booster for people over 19 and the same for children over six months.
Officials said the move would “normalise” the vaccine and “send a strong message” that everyone over the age of six should stay up-to-date on their Covid vaccines.
The CDC implemented the move after independent vaccine advisers suggested the changes.
This means the shot falls into the same category as vaccines for diseases such as polio, measles and hepatitis B.
Children die significantly less often from Covid than in any other age group. Less than 1 percent of all deaths since the pandemic began have affected people under the age of 18.
Covid is now the third leading cause of death in the general population.
Earlier last year, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention warned that young men who received the mRNA vaccines — either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines — were at increased risk of developing heart inflammation.
The agency warned that myocarditis is more common in men aged 16 and older within seven days of receiving the vaccine.
In a WHO interim statement from November 2021, she said that there is a clear “benefit to vaccinating all ages”.
However, it acknowledged: “While benefit-risk assessments clearly support the benefits of vaccinating all age groups, including children and adolescents, the direct health benefits of vaccinating children and adolescents are less than vaccinating older children because of the lower incidence of severe Covid adults and deaths in younger people.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering moving the introduction of the Covid vaccine to an annual schedule similar to the flu vaccination program.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
