According to a recent update on the vaccination exercise, more than one in 10 children aged 5 to 11 years old have already received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.
The vaccination exercise for children in this age group in Singapore started on December 27, 2021. Local paediatric vaccination centres have been set up for them to receive their Covid-19 jabs.
Update On Vaccination Exercise For Kids: 11.4% Have Gotten At Least One Dose Of Covid Vaccine
On Wednesday (5 January), Associate Professor Mak spoke during a press conference held by the Covid-19 multi-ministry task forces to share updates on the vaccination exercise.
As of Monday (3 January), 11.4 per cent of children aged 5 to 11 have gotten their Covid-19 jab. It is expected that the exercise will involve more than 300,000 children in total.
Prof Mak said that the vaccination exercise for this age group is progressing steadily. He added how the authorities remain confident that the paediatric formulation of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is safe for children.
How Safe Is The Covid-19 Vaccine For Children?
The safety of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been supported by recent data released in the United States, according to Prof Mak.
In a study by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, they looked into data from the 8.7 million Covid-19 vaccine doses administered to US children as of December 19, 2021. Findings showed that there was a low serious adverse event rate.
Side effects that Prof Mak mentioned included the following:
- Pain
- Fever
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Vomiting
- Rashes
- Seizures
- Allergic reactions
There were only 11 cases of myocarditis or heart inflammation found among children despite 8.7 million doses distributed.
Prof Mak said this corresponded to a post-vaccination myocarditis rate of about 1.3 cases per 100,000 people. This is reported to be "far lower" than the rate seen in the older population.
"So the dose reductions and the use of the paediatric formulations have preserved the efficacy of the vaccine and not compromised on the safety of vaccination," he added, as per The Straits Times.
The risk of getting myocarditis or pericarditis, which is the inflammation of the outer lining of the heart, due to Covid-19 has also been said to be as high as 45 cases per 100,000 young people aged 12 to 17 years old.
With this Prof Mak said, "So clearly, the risk of myocarditis from vaccination is far lower than the risk of getting that same complication from infection."
Prof Mak Says Singapore Is "Fortunate" To Not Have Many Children Infected With Covid-19
Prof Mak also noted how Singapore has been fortunate so far since not many children have been infected as compared to the US and Britain. In these countries, there was a surge in the number of infected cases that was in part due to children not receiving Covid-19 vaccination.
Regarding the new Covid-19 variant, Prof Mak said, "With the coming Omicron wave, we expect to see more children being infected."
"Rather than deal with the pain of seeing your loved one, your loved child being infected, I urge all parents to accept the invitation to register your child for vaccination at any of our vaccination centres that cater for childhood Covid-19 vaccinations," advised Prof Mark during the conference.
Have you already sent your child for vaccination? As a parent, what do you feel about this vaccination exercise?
Lead image source from Facebook / Chan Chun Sing.
Source: The Straits Times
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