Covid 19 Vaccine for Kids: Safe and Effective as Per Pediatricians
MANILA – Department of Health’s (DOH) together with National Task Force’s (NTF) campaign to vaccinate children is completely supported by The Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP).
As the country entered its third year of fighting the virus, the Philippines’ government began vaccination in children between the ages 5 to 11 to counteract the fatal coronavirus.
The PPS and PIDSP stipulated, “Covid-19 disease directly affects children and may lead to serious consequences. Children 5 to 11 years of age are at risk of severe illness from Covid-19”
One of the objectives of the DOH, in addition to this, is to prepare for the safe “Pisikal na Balik Eskwela” or face-to-face classes.
For Magsambol (2022), the immunization of children is great news, as the Department of Education (DepEd) intends to move to limited face-to-face classrooms by the school year 2022-2023. Since the pandemic began in 2020, the country has relied on a distance learning system.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Education Leonor Briones has stated that extending the ‘Resbakuna Kids’ program countrywide is critical to the safe reopening of face-to-face schools, particularly in high-risk locations (Kabagani, 2022).
“We cannot move to new forms, to new ways of teaching unless our children are safe, unless they are healthy, unless they are also happy with the learning experience,” Briones said (Kabagani, 2022).
“The children are crucially involved by the pandemic as this affects their poor mental and emotional health, growing educational inequalities, decreased physical activity and higher BMI, decreased regular vaccination, and a surge in negative experiences as a child,” the PPS and PIDSP quite exactly said.
So it is suggested that Covid-19’s public health burden in children aged 5 to 11 years could be reduced by widespread vaccination.
The NTF in a joint statement released on Sunday was flustered that the groups are concerned about recent revelations of some doctors who have engaged in unethical behaviour which have instilled significant vaccination apprehension on the children’s’ parents and guardians.
Based on CDC (2022), no negative effects for some persons and serious allergic reactions are uncommon. If the child has a severe adverse response after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination, immunization providers can provide immediate care.
According to the Department of Health, since the month of October, almost a hundred percent of those vaccinated reported no negative effects.
The dizziness, soreness in the injection site, and headache experienced by the small percent (0.3%) subsided over time.
Pediatricians reassured families that COVID-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11 had been proven safe and effective, and they stated their support for the government’s immunization campaign. “We are glad that as a nation, we are able to extend the protection given to adults and adolescents to now include children as young as 5 years old. Parents and guardians of children aged 5 to 11 years are enjoined to discuss vaccination with their health care provider and obtain their information from reputable sources with the right experience and expertise,” they said..
