Filenews 2 June 2021 - by Marlena Panagi
The decisions of the European Medicines Agency to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12 and over were not well publicized and the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) reversed the scene yesterday, announcing that existing data and data currently being recorded show that the benefits of vaccinating children and adolescents are rather small.
The ECDC, however, points out that children and adolescents belonging to high-risk groups should be vaccinated, but for the general child population, calls on the Member States of the European Union to take decisions on their own to extend their vaccination programmes.
In its report, the ECDC states:
-Vaccination of adolescents at high risk of severe COVID-19 should be considered a priority, as with other age groups.
-The individual direct benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents are expected to be limited compared to older age groups.
-The overall benefit to the general population of adolescent vaccination will be proportional to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within and from this age group.
In addition, the ECDC states that 'given the expected reduced individual risk-benefit ratio from COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents compared to older age groups, careful consideration should be given to the epidemiological situation and intake of vaccines in older groups prior to targeting this age group'.
Finally, the report stresses "the importance of continuing to monitor the spread of variations of concern among younger people and assessing the long-term effects of COVID-19".
Explaining the rationale for the report, ECDC director Andrea Ammon said that, "as vaccination progresses, we are reaching the stage where vaccination of younger age groups, such as adolescents, should be considered" and added, "our guidance highlights many important issues that policymakers need to take into account. This includes current vaccination intake, particularly in older groups, incidence of COVID-19 in the population and issues related to availability and access to vaccines worldwide."
Vaccination of children, "beyond the decisions of the Governments, is a decision to be taken by parents for their children", said Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakidou, stressing that "science has always been the guiding principle for our common strategy on EU vaccines and the development of vaccination campaigns , and the advice and expertise of the European Union agencies have played an important role in our work. Following the positive assessment of the EMA, ecdc is now monitoring practical evidence-based data to support Member States considering extending national vaccination programmes to adolescents as well."
For his part in statements to "F", the scientific advisor of the Ministry of Health on vaccination issues for the crown, Associate Professor of Pharmacy Christos Petrou, said that "first we need to see whether children are at great risk of being seriously ill. This, we see, is not the case. Secondly, children can certainly be asymptomatic carriers of the virus and potential transmitters in vulnerable populations such as the elderly." Vaccination, he added, "certainly reduces the likelihood of transmission." However, he said, some ethical questions are raised such as "whether there is a need to vaccinate vulnerable people or populations in the country or others" and these are all issues that need to be taken into account. In any case, he said, "children at high risk should be vaccinated as a matter of priority."
