SPRS (Pediatric Society of Rio Grande do Sul) optimistically received the announcement by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) which authorized, in an emergency manner, Vaccination against COVID-19 Of children between 5 and 11 years old.
The fortifying agent that will be used is the Pfizer/BioNTech laboratory, which is already used by this audience in other countries. Two doses will be required, with an interval of three weeks between applications.
Studies have shown that it is effective and safe in this group of children. There are no reports of significant or major adverse events. Certain situations can always occur, such as the possibility of fever, malaise, body aches or dull pain at the application site, but no serious cases have been reported. Given the importance of individual and group protection, vaccination is recommended”, stated a member of the Infectious Diseases Committee of the SPRS, Juarez Cunha.
The primary care is to make it clear to the entire population that the vaccine given to children is not the same as that given to adults.
“The vaccine that is currently available in Brazil for adults is not suitable for children. It is not just a matter of dose. The formulation is different and the scope is different. Even for this reason, an application has been recommended for children in different places. This idea is interesting because throughout the time children are being vaccinated, adults will continue to be vaccinated.” in different age groups. So the scale reduces the chance of error,” adds Juarez.
In addition to individual protection, in the case of the Pfizer vaccine, immunizing children aged 5 to 11 years will reduce the possibility of infecting other family members regardless of whether they are immunized or not. It also reduces the chance of infection in schools and other environments.
The doctor confirms that in addition to the fact that the vaccine is effective and safe, there are also criteria for the recommendation, which are adhered to by medical authorities.
The main thing is that despite the knowledge that covid-19 affects other age groups more seriously, in Brazil there are more than 2,500 deaths of children from the disease.
