Scientists advise government to vaccinate high risk 5-11-year-olds against Covid-19

The health department has agreed to offer Covid-19 vaccination to high-risk children aged 5-11, based on the recommendations of its scientific advisers, a senior official confirmed on Monday.

The decision is expected to be welcomed by the SA Paediatric  Association, which asked the government in June to open vaccination to a subgroup of younger children with conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness and death from Covid-19. 

The news was welcomed by one of SA’s leading vaccine researchers, Desmond Tutu Health Foundation executive director Linda-Gail Bekker, who said: “Children who are at greater risk of poorer outcomes from Covid infection should be offered vaccination — we know vaccination prevents the more severe consequences of Covid regardless of variant concerned,” she said. 

The Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 vaccination (VMAC) has recommended shots for children with specific conditions, such as diabetes and severe asthma, or those taking medication that suppresses the immune system, but has provided scope for other vulnerable children to get the jabs.

Its guidance is in line with that of the World Health Organization, and the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which recently rolled back vaccination of all 5-11 year olds and now recommends jabs for only high-risk children.

Vaccination of children aged 5-11 will begin once the electronic vaccination data system used to track the national immunisation drive has been updated, said the health department’s deputy director-general for National Health Insurance, Nicholas Crisp, who also oversees the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

The VMAC said eligible children should be given two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and recommended they receive half the adult dose, pending regulatory approval of a paediatric formulation. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority approved the use of Pfizer’s jab in children aged 12 and older in September 2021, but has yet to approve a lower dose formulation for younger children.

In an advisory published on the health department’s website, the VMAC said offering vaccination to all 5 to 11-year-olds was not justified because it offered a small absolute benefit, would be costly to run and might not get a strong response from parents.

It was unclear how much demand there would be for vaccines among children aged 5-11 in SA, as take up had generally been low in other countries due to concerns about side effects and overall benefits, said the VMAC.

Despite the government allowing children aged 12-17 to get vaccinated against Covid-19 without their parents’ permission, demand has been extremely low and only 11.6% of children in this age group have received the two shots they are eligible for.  A total of 1.9-million children aged 12-17 have received their first jab, but only 770,428 got their second, according to government figures.

Vaccine coverage is highest among older people, with more than 70% of those over 60 having had at least one shot.

kahnt@businesslive.co.za

Read the full government advisory below: