Through a statement, which was even sent privately to pediatricians, the Argentine Pediatric Society (SAP) ratified its full support for the vaccination of children and adolescents. “Vaccines against the coronavirus have been shown to be safe and effective”, they remarked in the letter.
Despite what has been said by various sectors in this regard, the entity indicated that “the vaccination against the coronavirus in children and adolescents is a strategy that began to be applied in various countries, being a tool that not only benefits those who receive it, but also contributes to achieving protection community ”. In addition, they noted that the dose Sinopharm uses a known platform (inactivated virus) that is also used in other vaccines in the Calendar.
Regarding the benefits represented by the vaccination against the coronavirus, explained that contributes to reducing the rare serious forms of disease and mortality in this group, the number of susceptible people and also prevents contagion. From this, they stated that all this favors “school attendance and social, cultural and sports activities necessary for normal development.”
The four reasons why you have to vaccinate the youngest
In order to justify its position, the SAP listed a series of reasons that explain the importance of immunization against coronavirus in the entire pediatric population. In turn, they stated that The decision to prioritize risk groups such as girls with chronic diseases or comorbidities must be maintained..
- Burden of disease: the risk exists. “The pediatric population represents 8.8% of the total confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic in our country. Although it is rare, this disease can manifest as moderate or severe respiratory symptoms, as well as the new disease of Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome “, they expressed as the first point.
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Characteristics of transmissibility and opportunity for integration: children and adolescents appear as the group susceptible to contracting the infection. “Active protection with safe and effective vaccines will also protect children from the emergence of new variants. It is therefore logical to consider pediatric vaccination to secure other clearly related secondary benefits, such as protecting families, facilitating school attendance and allowing other activities, “they added.
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Herd immunity: all coronavirus vaccines in use in our country contain inactivated viruses or viral genetic material, so they do not have the ability to induce immunity at the mucosal level. “It is necessary to vaccinate children and adolescents to achieve this coverage, and in this way protect them and achieve collective immunity,” they clarified in this regard.
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Available vaccines: after recalling that all the vaccines used in the country were approved or authorized by the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT), they confirmed that children should receive complete schedules and that pediatric vaccination should continue their progress in younger children with priority in those with chronic diseases.
“The Argentine Society of Pediatrics has always prioritized the importance of vaccines in the pediatric population and has constantly worked to improve the country’s vaccination schedule and its compliance. Vaccines are a right“, they sentenced.
