Last Thursday, the head of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS), Francisco Coma, announced that next week 500,000 Moderna vaccines will enter the country, through the Cóvax mechanism, and that 1 million pediatric Pfizer vaccines will arrive by the end of the month. , which will allow minors to be immunized against the coronavirus.
According to the Health authorities, the biologicals will be destined for 79 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 11, who are pending receiving the first dose and administer the second dose to infants who have already met the window of 56 days.
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The administration of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children aged 6 to 11 years was authorized by the health portfolio in the first half of last March, the appropriate dose for this age group is 0.25 milliliters, as stipulated by the European Medicines Agency , is half the dose of an adult.
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that a recent study revealed that the effectiveness of the vaccine was 90.7% in preventing COVID-19 in children from 5 to 11 years and no serious side effects have been detected.
The COVID-19 vaccine for children is administered as a primary series of two doses, 56 days apart. While, for those under 12 to 17 years of age, with comorbidities (chronic diseases) a third dose will be administered four months after receiving the second dose, according to health authorities, the vaccines will allow them to maintain levels of immunity against complications from COVID-19.
The numbers
The target population set by the Ministry of Health was 2 million 202 thousand 531 children from 6 to 11 years old and according to the MSPAS dashboard, 482 thousand 764 minors have been immunized, which represents 21.92 percent.
While for adolescents from 12 to 17 years old, the target population is 2 million 121 thousand 284 minors, of which 1 million 026 thousand 470 have been vaccinated, which represents 48.39 percent; with the second dose, 730 thousand 340 adolescents have been administered, which represents 34.43 percent.
In the aforementioned age group, 65,977 minors have received the booster dose, which represents 3.11 percent.
New entry
For the next few days, the MSPAS foresees the income of 500 thousand Moderna vaccines to complete schemes in minors and 1 million from Pfizer pediatric, which will be aimed at children between 6 and 11 years of age, through the Covax mechanism.
It is important to mention that the World Health Organization (WHO) said in one of its latest updates that the Pfizer vaccine is safe for “over 5 years of age if the recommended doses for children from 5 to 11 are adjusted”.
what you should know
Several doubts revolve in relation to immunizing minors against Covid-19, the Prensa Libre team shares what parents and children should know about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, as well as possible side effects and the benefits of getting vaccinated.
Why should children be vaccinated?
Coronavirus vaccines can prevent a minor from getting and spreading the coronavirus. Although some of the strains do not cause serious symptoms in children, more and more studies and evidence are emerging on some variants of the virus that can have serious consequences for minors. Vaccines against the coronavirus could prevent a serious picture of the disease, even in the long term; In addition, they also reduce the risk in minors with conditions such as obesity, diabetes and asthma, who could be more susceptible to a serious infection.
What vaccines can give children?
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized for that country the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNtech covid-19 vaccine for children between 5 and 11 years of age. The official indications suggest two injections to be given three weeks apart and the formula is a lower dose of the coronavirus vaccine that is applied to those over 12 years of age. According to the FDA, this vaccine is approximately 91% effective in preventing coronavirus for this age group.
In Guatemala, the Ministry of Health approved the emergency use of the Moderna vaccine in the population under 12 years of age and on March 14 began to apply it in doses of 50 micrograms in two injections with an interval of eight weeks between each one. The Government of Guatemala used this vaccine despite the fact that it has not received the endorsement of the FDA, nor of the World Health Organization, but the emergency use by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and it is this European entity which estimates that the effectiveness of this drug against coronavirus can reach 94.1%
Can the coronavirus vaccine prevent long-term effects in children?
According to the Mayo Clinic “anyone who has had covid can develop a subsequent medical condition.” They also warn that children with mild and severe symptoms have had longer symptoms, and the most common are: tiredness, headache, sleep disorders, difficulty concentrating, pain in muscles and joints and in some cases cough.
Is there any research on the effects of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines?
Vaccines rarely cause long-term effects. However, a selection of children in each age group were safety monitored for at least two months after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and a safety monitoring plan was created, which includes the monitoring of children and adolescents who receive the COVID-19 vaccine and all vaccination providers are required to report serious adverse events, such as allergic reactions, to a national program called the Adverse Event Reporting System of Vaccines.
Can the COVID-19 vaccine give a child COVID-19?
No. The COVID-19 vaccines currently being developed in the United States do not use a live virus that causes it.
Are there any differences in the ingredients or doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines for young children, older children or adults?
Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 contains a lower dose (10 micrograms) than that used for older children and adults (30 micrograms). Smaller needles are used to administer the vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 years.
It also contains a different buffer solution than the one used for older children and adults. This different buffer, which is used in other Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved vaccines, will help keep the vaccine stable at refrigerated temperatures for longer.
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