Side effects, infection risks and post-COVID-19 school life: Tackling vaccine concerns for kids
SINGAPORE: He went online, did his enquiry and felt "pretty safe" letting his 15-year-onetime daughter be vaccinated confronting COVID-xix.
Only what seemed a "no-brainer" for Talking Point host Steven Chia may non be so for some parents.
In a straw poll he conducted via CNA Insider'southward Instagram account, 23 per cent of the 300 respondents said no to vaccinating their children.
Shaheera Effendi, for example, is "still thinking" near whether to bring her elder daughter, 13, for vaccination.
"She tends to get ill very easily, then I'm quite worried … she'd have worse side effects," said the mother of ii, who cited the rare cases of heart inflammation in teen vaccine recipients being investigated in some countries.
She besides has friends who have questioned whether children need a vaccine to fight the novel coronavirus.
Scout: Should my kid get vaccinated for COVID-19? Mutual vaccination questions parents have (v:x)
Among parents who take had children vaccinated with their first dose, there were also initial apprehensions. One of them, Daniel Teo, said he ultimately thought of the "good furnishings" instead of side effects like fever, headache and a sore arm.
"Once you're vaccinated … even if you take (COVID-19), you probably won't fall so sick," cited the father of ii teens. "It's an added protection."
Patricia Ng is some other who "thought hard nearly it" before making her decision. "There might be long-term effects, merely … that'southward unknown, right?" said the female parent of three girls aged 13 to 20.
"What's known to me is, if my kids get COVID-19, their health would be greatly compromised. And that'due south not a chance I want to accept."
So far, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the merely one in Singapore canonical for those aged 12 to 17. As with adults, they must declare any known allergy and whether they are on sure medications before they can be cleared for vaccination.
All the same precautions like these, Mr Chia could "sympathise why there might exist some concerns" among parents. So he spoke to some experts about but how safe, or necessary, the vaccine is for children.
He also found out from Education Government minister Chan Chun Sing what inoculation might mean for school life going forwards.
READ: Singaporeans anile 12 to 39 can register for COVID-nineteen vaccination from Jun 11
READ: Singapore shortens interval between COVID-xix vaccine doses to 4 weeks
KEEPING A LOOKOUT
One of the concerns Mr Chia heard from parents is that the vaccines "came about then quickly" compared to traditional vaccines, which take years to come out.
Simply the technology behind the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) used in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine "has been around for decades", said senior consultant Thoon Koh Cheng, who heads the infectious disease service at KK Women's and Children'south Hospital.
"We've used it in many other atmospheric condition such every bit in cancer," he noted. "Given those experiences and also the trials that were done … it's been deemed to be reasonably safe, with the side effect ratios within adequate limits."
He acknowledged that "in that location's ever a business organization whenever annihilation new is introduced to our growing children". But the available show suggests that the vaccines — which deed like a fix of "coding instructions" for the body — "don't change our DNA".
"(The mRNA instructions) are likewise speedily destroyed by our enzymes, and then they're discarded. And then inside that time frame, it'south very unlikely that we'll meet long-term side effects … in the vast bulk of children who are vaccinated," he said.
READ: Benefits of mRNA COVID-nineteen vaccines 'continue to outweigh' risks: Singapore expert committee
Associate Professor Thoon, who has done inquiry on adverse effects post-obit immunisation, said Singapore has also been "advisedly evaluating" the presence of center inflammation in young adults and adolescents — and "at that place've been some signals, but they're too very, very small".
From data overseas, the reported charge per unit then far is 1.half-dozen per 100,000 adolescents vaccinated, he cited. "Most of these reports accept mentioned that these individuals accept recovered without whatsoever long-term side furnishings, and they're yet on follow-up.
"If we practice detect the signals, nosotros'd also pause and take stock (of) whether or non these are important plenty for united states to modify management."
For children in Singapore who have been infected with the virus, none have required intensive intendance, and "they seem to accept more asymptomatic infections compared to adults", noted Chan Si Min, the head of paediatric infectious diseases at National University Hospital's Khoo Teck Puat – National University Children'southward Medical Institute.
Having treated children with COVID-19 since the outbreak began, the senior consultant sees that some of them, however, are at higher run a risk of having the kind of severe infection some adults take had.
They include infants less than a year old, teenagers over 12 years old and children with underlying medical weather.
There is also the take a chance posed by Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, which is related to COVID-19 infection. It may fifty-fifty strike children who were asymptomatic during their original infection.
"They've recovered from (COVID-nineteen), and one to two months later on, they develop the syndrome of high inflammation in many parts of their body," cited Dr Chan.
"More than half of them end up in intensive care. And nigh ii per cent of them will die from the syndrome."
Globally, the syndrome tends to affect well-nigh i in one,000 children who have had COVID-19. Singapore and Southeast Asia "oasis't actually seen this syndrome yet, but that's obviously something we're (keeping) a watch out for if more children develop COVID".
These risks are not the just reasons for vaccinating children, she added.
"If you want your children to get back to some kind of normalcy, specially for … children to congregate in classrooms and tuition centres and sports, then it would exist practiced to accept them vaccinated."
READ: Will taking a painkiller before the jab help? Your COVID-19 vaccine questions answered
LOOSER MEASURES IN Schoolhouse?
As at June 27, more than 112,000 children in Singapore aged 12 to fifteen accept got their starting time dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Marleen Toh, 13, is ane of them, and she hopes that "if anybody in school is vaccinated", and so they tin remove their masks during physical education.
That is "1 of the possibilities" scientists are studying, especially for open-air environments, noted Mr Chan.
"That'southward mayhap less risky compared to … a airtight surround where the virus might circulate a bit more," said the education government minister, who signalled that it might be "one of the first steps" to take when COVID-xix measures tin exist loosened.
"We definitely desire to keep an open mind, simply at the same time we must brand sure that we're able to adopt a whole suite of different measures according to the unlike mutations that might happen."
Group activities are now not allowed. But "if more people become vaccinated and if the scientific discipline allows us to do this, we'd want y'all to become back to the pocket-sized groups where you collaborate with 1 some other", he said.
While things volition nevertheless exist "quite different" from school life earlier the pandemic, "if we're all vaccinated, that would give us greater confidence to interact … during playtime, during recess or during other lessons that are conducted in the open air".
"For the cohorts that can exist vaccinated, we promise that all of them volition be vaccinated as before long every bit possible," he said, adding that the rest of the prophylactic management measures will go on to employ to younger cohorts.
"I don't think we'll be able to go rid of all the safe management measures, merely nosotros may be able to adjust … as we keep, based on our vaccination charge per unit and based on the variants of concern."
To parents who may feel pressured to have their children vaccinated, he stressed that "regardless of whether your children take been vaccinated or not, we must have care of all our children together".
"Some children may not exist able to become vaccinated considering they take other medical atmospheric condition, and then we fully understand that," he said.
"But to the extent that … children can exist vaccinated, of form we hope that the parents will get the necessary information to make an informed conclusion."
He understands that "some parents might have some concerns" over potential short-term or long-term side effects.
"As a parent, what I'd unremarkably encourage other parents to think almost is this: In the brusk term, if we're vaccinated, the chances of us getting seriously ill and requiring … intensive intendance are much reduced," he said.
WATCH: The full episode — COVID-19: Should our children be vaccinated? (22:30)
From what Mr Chan has seen, the numbers "aren't very dissimilar" in terms of potential side effects for children and for the entire population.
Giving parents such data, yet, is "simply the first footstep", he noted. "The second pace is to make certain that as the children go through the vaccination program, whatsoever help … they need they'll go it.
"This is what we'll continue doing … for the second dose in a couple of weeks' time."
For Mr Chia, whose girl will get her 2d jab after a half-dozen-calendar week interval, the benefits of vaccination "far outweigh" the risks.
"We should likewise all consider the possible ways we tin can loosen restrictions if more of us get vaccinated," he said. "That's one mode we can give our kids back their babyhood."
Watch this episode of Talking Point hither. The programme airs on Channel 5 every Th at 9.30pm.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/cna-insider/side-effects-infection-risks-and-post-covid-19-school-life-tackling-vaccine-concerns-kids-284221
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