Covid vaccine for children aged 5 to 11
L' European Medicines Agency (Ema) approved the Pfizer vaccine to be given to children between 5 and 11 years old. The dose will be reduced to one third of that of adults: 10 micrograms instead of 30. You will need a recall after 3 weeks. In Del Paese, there are around 4 million children in this age group. Another essential step is awaited: the approval by the Del Paesena del Farmaco Agency (Aifa), scheduled for Monday 29 November.
Read also: Covid vaccine for children: approved in the USA
Testing and effectiveness of the vaccine on children
The Ema would have explained that tests on children aged 5 to 11 years would have shown that the immune response with a lower dose (10 µg) in this age group is comparable to that observed with the higher dose (30 µg), administered among adults. Moreover the effectiveness of the vaccine to prevent Covid 19 symptoms would have been 90,7%.
Side effects
The most common side effects in children between the ages of 5 and 11, Ema explains, would be similar to those seen in adults. They include pain at the injection site, fatigue, headache, redness and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, and chills. These effects are usually mild or moderate and improve within a few days of vaccination.
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When will the vaccine be given?
The United States has already started the vaccination campaign between the ages of 5 and 11 on November 2, immunizing 3 million children so far. Israel and Canada left earlier this week. The first vials should arrive in the countries of the European Union, which have made a joint purchase, starting from 20 December. France and Germany have announced that they will not start with injections before 2022.
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- vaccinations for children
- coronavirus
