Covid vaccination: Is the Covid-19 vaccine safe for children? What you need to know

In the wake of rising concerns over emergence of Covid around the world, scientists observed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus affected the children and adults very differently. While subsequently, the health authorities notified that children were less likely to develop severe disease and rarely died from Covid, the issue of whether the Covid-19 vaccine is safe for children is up for discussion.

In the US regulators authorized Pfizer’s vaccine for younger children after millions of 12- to 17-year-olds already safely got the shot, the only one available for children in the country.

Earlier in November, over 5 million children ages 5 to 11 have gotten a first dose and the government safety monitoring has not uncovered any surprise problems.

This age group gets kid-size doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, a third of the amount used to vaccinate everyone 12 or older. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the shots based on a study showing the kid-size doses were 91% effective at preventing symptomatic Covid-19. The 5- to 11-year-olds developed virus-fighting antibodies as strong as those of teens and young adults who got regular doses, with similar or fewer annoying reactions such as sore arms, fever or achiness.

The FDA assessed the safety of the kid-size doses in 3,100 vaccinated youngsters. Regulators deemed that enough data, considering the trove of safety information from hundreds of millions of larger doses given to adults and teens worldwide.

Very rarely, teens and young adults given the Pfizer vaccine or a similar one made by Moderna experience a serious side effect, heart inflammation, or what doctors call myocarditis. It’s mostly in young men or teen boys, and usually after the second dose. They tend to recover quickly, and after intense scrutiny U.S. health authorities concluded the vaccine’s benefits outweigh that small risk.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking into a handful of reports of heart inflammation, mostly mild and brief, among 5- to 11-year-olds since vaccinations of that age group began.

Earlier this week, Indian health bodies the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) said that they are deliberating and considering scientific evidences related to vaccination of children.

The central government has been regularly reviewing pace and coverage of COVID-19 vaccination and has issued multiple advisories to states and union territories to cover eligible beneficiaries with both doses of Covid-19 vaccine, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply.

The government has also undertaken 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign from November 3, wherein missed beneficiaries for first dose and beneficiaries due for second dose are identified and vaccinated through house-to-house activity, she said.

On whether the government has any immediate proposals or policy to vaccinate persons under the age of 18 years, Pawar said, "The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization are deliberating and considering scientific evidences related to vaccination of children below 18 years of age."