With the authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for the immunization against COVID-19 of children in the USA, there were also contradictions regarding its administration. In fact, many doctors have different opinions about this issue.
The US administration has said it will launch a campaign to vaccinate children between the ages of 12 and 16.
Some doctors support immunizing children against COVID-19
For example, the medical world is divided into two categories. On the one hand there are doctors who support the immunization of children, on the other hand there are voices who say that attention should be focused on other age groups, not on the broad category mentioned above.
With the FDA’s approval of Pfizer serum, the United States has begun vaccinating children over 12 years of age. There are over 80 million children under the age of 18 in America. For example, pediatrician Yvonne Maldonado supports the vaccination campaign for children. He argues that the relatively large number of children who become ill with COVID-19 and end up in hospital:
“Children are actually getting infected and we have seen over three and a half million children in the United States infected with SARS-VOC-2 thousand hospitalizations and between three and six hundred deaths. COVID-19 is currently in the top 10 causes of death in children since the pandemic began, “said Prof. Yvonne Maldonado, pediatrician, epidemiologist, Stanford University School of Medicine.
I am a pediatrician and vaccinologist and I must say that we tend to underestimate the impact of diseases on children and focus on people who have a stronger political voice, “said Prof. Yvonne Maldonado.
Other voices say vaccinating children is not a priority
Although he supports the vaccination of children, Prof. Adam Finn from the UK is skeptical about this. We are talking about the fact that the pediatrician is of the opinion that children with various comorbidities should be vaccinated. In fact, without a high risk, doses for children can be used to immunize people in poor countries who need more vaccine:
“In the UK, in particular, we have identified children with severe neuromuscular disease and associated respiratory disease. Those children should also be immunized and protected, as they can be identified as being at risk, “said Prof. Adam Finn, Joint Committee on Vaccination.
“Not only are very few of them getting sick and very, very few of them are dying of COVID, it is also that there are a limited number of vaccines at the moment and that these supplies must be directed to prevent death,” said the professor. Adam Finn, Joint Committee on Vaccination (UK).
In Europe we see a very different picture. The European Medicines Agency has not yet considered vaccinating young people without comorbidities. On the other hand, Joe Biden has started a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in children in the USA. He hopes for a successful campaign that could create great immunity among children.
Romania is ready to vaccinate children
On the other hand, the Romanian authorities stated that the country is ready to vaccinate children. Colonel Valeriu Gheorghiță, responsible for the vaccination campaign in Romania, stated that the state is ready to immunize children. At this date, Romania has approximately 800,000 children between the ages of 12 and 15. In fact, the doctor said that there are enough doses of Pfizer for immunization:
“It depends a lot on when that marketing authorization is granted. Of course, we have a sufficiently diverse network of vaccination centers at the moment to allow access to and vaccination of all those who wish to be vaccinated from that group of age. More or less, we are talking about 800,000 children who are in this age group 12-15 years, we have enough doses, so their vaccination can be ensured without problems as long as parents understand the importance of vaccination “, said Valeriu Gheorghiţă .
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