The World Health Organization (WHO) has revised Covid vaccine recommendations and suggested that healthy children and adolescents may not need a shot.
In guidance released on Tuesday, the WHO deemed healthy children and adolescents a ‘low priority’ for Covid jabs.
It said the public health impact of vaccinating children and adolescents is “much less than the specific benefits of traditional core childhood vaccines” such as measles and polio.
The World Health Organization urged countries to consider the fact that young people are unlikely to become severely ill with Covid before recommending vaccination.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is looking into adding obesity drugs to its list of “essential” medicines.
About 79 percent of American children have completed their initial series of COVID vaccines while 20 percent have been given an updated booster (bivalent) dose.
The World Health Organization also called for urgent efforts to replace routine vaccines missed by the pandemic
She said Covid vaccines and boosters are safe for all ages, but the guidelines took into account other factors such as cost-effectiveness.
These are defined as the elderly and children with immune conditions, and it is recommended that they receive a booster dose between six and 12 months after their last vaccination.
Chair of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Vaccination (SAGE), Dr Hanna Nohaink, He said“Countries must consider their specific context in deciding whether to continue vaccinating low-risk groups, such as healthy children and adolescents, while not compromising routine vaccinations that are critical to the health and well-being of this age group.”
The committee also called for urgent efforts to make up for routine vaccinations missed by the epidemic and warned of the rise in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in November that a record 40 million children missed the measles vaccine in 2021.
Vaccination coverage for measles – one of the most infectious human viruses yet completely preventable – has been steadily declining since the start of the COVID pandemic.
Misinformation associated with Covid vaccines has also led to a large number of parents rejecting normal childhood vaccines, even though vaccinations are the most effective way to protect children from measles.
Last month, the CDC officially added Covid shots to the list of routine immunizations for children and adults.
She put two or three first doses of the Covid vaccine and a booster for people over 19 on the schedule, and the same for children over six months old.
Officials said the move would “normalize” the vaccine and “send a strong message” that everyone over the age of six should stay up-to-date on their COVID vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented the move after independent vaccine advisors suggested changes.
This means that the vaccine is in the same class as vaccines for diseases such as polio, measles, and hepatitis B.
Children are significantly less likely to die from Covid than any other age group. Less than one percent of all deaths since the start of the pandemic have been among those under the age of 18.
Meanwhile, Covid was the third leading cause of death in the population.
Of the 4.4 million global Covid deaths in the MPIDR COVerAGE database, 0.4 percent (more than 17,400) were among children under the age of 20.
In the United States, 735 children under the age of four have died from Covid. In the 5-11 and 12-15 age groups, nearly 500 children died in each. About 365 teens between the ages of 16 and 17 have died of COVID.
Children have always been at a distinctly low risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from Covid.
Moreover, while the vaccine reduces the risk of death and hospitalization, it does not prevent transmission.
Early last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that young males who received mRNA vaccines — whether Pfizer’s or Moderna’s — were more likely to develop heart inflammation.
The agency warned that myocarditis appeared most frequently in males 16 years of age or older within seven days of receiving the injection.
in temporary statement From the World Health Organization as of November 2021, she said there is ‘a clear benefit to vaccinating all age groups’.
But it acknowledged: ‘Although the risk-benefit assessments clearly support the benefit of vaccination for all age groups, including children and adolescents, the direct health benefit of vaccinating children and adolescents is less compared to vaccinating the elderly due to the lower incidence of severe Covid and . Younger deaths.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering shifting the rollout of the Covid vaccine to an annual schedule similar to the flu vaccine program.
