Experts On Why COVID-19 Vaccine For Children Is Still A Long Way Coming
Experts at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States of America have said though children are not immune to the Coronavirus, however, developing a COVID-19 vaccine for them will take a while.
According to Dr. Frank Esper, paediatric infectious disease specialist, one of the reasons for focusing on adult COVID-19 vaccine is because when children are involved in clinical trials, there is oftentimes more layers of protection to go through.
âFor instance, the child and both parents typically have to agree to participate in the trial or study,â Esper explained, as published by Cleveland Clinic online recently.
âKids are a special and vulnerable population and we try to protect them because they canât make decisions for themselves. In clinical trials â whether for a vaccine or any type of treatment â we donât want to speed things up because itâs a matter of protection and safety,â
Esper said.
âSo, the priority right now is for an adult vaccine, not only because of the outcomes weâre seeing, but because an adult vaccine is going to be faster to create due to the potential risk and rigorous safety precautions needed for the development of a childrenâs vaccine,â
he added.
Experts say that immune systems in children can vary greatly, depending on age. Esper explained further:
âA 16-year-old is going to have a much different immune system than a 16-month-old. Because of this, additional data and research is needed when evaluating a vaccine for kids.â
Noting that the situation is even true for influenza injections, experts say babies six months and older should get a flu immunization every year, while some kids whose ages range from six months through eight years of age may need two doses for more protection.
âThis is because of differing immune system responses at different ages,â experts say.
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According to Esper, childrenâs immune systems are growing up just as they are; adding, âWe often split kids up by age groups and stages. We canât just say every childâs immune systems are the same at any given age.â
With adults, the scenario is different. Esper said:
âFor adults, weâre often lumped together from age 18 to 65 and then 65 and over. With children, there is a much wider range in terms of stages and ages because they are still growing and developing.
âAll of this has to be taken into consideration with a vaccine, since kids at varying ages will likely respond differently.
âBecause of all the challenges with kidâs immune systems and the protection and safety protocols in clinical trials, when a COVID-19 vaccine is available, it likely wonât be approved for children.
âHowever, itâs still important to note that in order to get a handle on the pandemic, it will require vaccinating both adults and children.â
Explaining further, the paediatrician said in order to bring COVID-19 under control, the world needs vaccine for both adults and children as quickly as possible; adding, âBut right now, most vaccine manufacturers are focusing on an adult version.â
Adducing reasons for the singular focus, Esper said,
âBecause data shows that severe illness from COVID-19 tends to happen to adults (especially in older adults). Weâre not seeing the same sort of response or sickness in children.
âThatâs not to say that children are immune to COVID-19, because they arenât, but they tend to be more resilient and fare better if they get sickâ (although a very small number of children have developed a serious inflammatory condition linked to coronavirus).
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Some manufactures are already working on a childrenâs vaccine, but the majority are focusing on an adult version first.
âOnce that is available, many of the companies will likely move onto developing one for children,â he said.