The delta variant increases the risk of severe Covid in those under 12 years of age

Tavío, dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the ULPGC, makes an analysis on the importance of immunizing the smallest of the house, highlighting the role they currently play in the chain of transmission of the virus. “Currently, 79.2% of the Spanish population has a complete vaccination schedule against Covid-19. But despite the high percentage of the vaccinated population, there is a progressive increase in the incidence of the virus. Most of the cases are observed in the unvaccinated population, especially in children under 12 years of age, who represent 11% of the country's population. The inclusion of this group in the vaccination strategy will make it easier for vaccination coverage to approach 90%, "he pointed out.

The researcher points out in the article that the incidence of Covid-19 at present, after reaching an important vaccination coverage among those over 12 years of age, is very uneven according to age groups, being that of those under 11 years of age much higher to the population mean, with a difference greater than 100 points. "The data indicate that this unvaccinated group could act as a reservoir and source of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as we remember that asymptomatic or mildly ill people can also transmit the virus."

Persistent covid

The professor of Microbiology at the ULPGC also points out the importance of vaccination in childhood to reduce the risk of suffering from symptomatic disease, as well as developing persistent Covid, a new condition present in people who have suffered from the SARS virus infection. CoV-2.

«Sometimes, Covid-19 can evolve in a serious way in some children under 12 years of age. In fact, this risk has increased with the expansion of the Delta variant. We have seen it in the United States, where there has been a five-fold increase in hospitalization rates for children and adolescents aged 0-17 years that was associated with increased circulation of the Delta variant. "

According to the data published by the researcher, since the pandemic began, 3,259 children under 10 years of age have been hospitalized in Spain, of which 863 -26% - occurred between June 20 and September 15, along with a greater presence of the Delta variant. “In the current epidemiological situation, childhood vaccination against Covid-19 will help reduce the transmission of the virus and the incidence of this infection in the population as a whole. In addition to this, it will protect children under 12 years of age against the risk of serious Covid-19 ", underlines the dean of Health Sciences.

Regarding the safety of the vaccine for the child population, Dr. Tavío recalls that the clinical phase of the study of the Pfizer-BioNTech drug against Covid-19 was carried out in 2,268 children between 5 and 11 years of age, and The results confirm an effectiveness of the immune response by antibodies similar to that observed with the formula for adults in the group aged 16 to 25 years, with an efficacy of 90.7%. 'Notably, the side effects of the infant formula were mild to moderate and disappeared within a day or two. These effects consisted mainly of redness and swelling at the puncture site. In addition, fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, muscle and joint pain were observed. The incidence of systemic effects, such as fever and chills, was lower than in the 16 to 25-year-old group and generally occurred after the second dose. '

María del Mar Tavío also emphasized that the development of childhood vaccines is subject to higher demands than vaccines for adults - "this is the case of the additional requirements regarding the safety of infant vaccine preparations." This, together with the fact that it was a priority to vaccinate the adult population as it is more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection, has produced a greater delay in childhood vaccination. "But recently, the evolution of the pandemic has increased interest in the administration of the vaccine in this age group."