Monday, 28 November 2022 15:51

Reinforcing the importance of Covid-19 vaccination in children

Written by Evelyn Alas

Representatives of the Asociación de Pediatría de El Salvador (ASOPEDES) held a congress in which they addressed topics of interest, such as the importance of vaccination as a strategy to prevent bacterial resistance, lessons learned from the vaccination against Covid 19 and the effect of long covid in children, regarding what is happening at the moment.

According to health professionals, in this context in which acute respiratory diseases have increased, and in which the Ministry of Health itself has declared that there are up to 4 variants of Omicron circulating in the country, in addition to cases such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, it is important to check that the defense schemes are complete or in process.

Doctors specialized in the children's area emphasized that in order to limit the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 it is important to complete the vaccination schedule, which can be administered in two-dose regimens, with proportions adapted to each age group from 6 months to 17 years of age.

As reiterated by the doctors, the doses one month apart, are very timely to initiate protection for the beginning of the school year, when children return to classrooms, day care centers at higher risk, also to face less danger for those who are on vacation and attend different activities.

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The theme of the importance of immunization against COVID-19 continues to be part of the communication efforts of institutions related to the care of infants such as the association, but also of pharmaceutical laboratories such as ASOFARMA, who in this same congress held a symposium that led to a reflection on "where we are and where we are going with these vaccination efforts", specifically analyzing the current status, challenges and opportunities in the field.

For ASOFARMA representatives, children need to lead a social life to develop and thrive; therefore, they recommend protecting them with the pediatric vaccine that offers statistically significant defenses, with data from large trials.

"It is important to start educating about the need for complete vaccination schedules, especially in the midst of social situations such as those currently being experienced in El Salvador. Vaccines such as Moderna's have demonstrated efficacy and safety in all age groups, from 6 months to adults, so there is no reason to continue doubting the effects they can cause", said Dr. Yamile Sandoval, Medical Manager of Moderna.

Yamile Sandoval, Vaccines Medical manager of Asofarma.

ASOFARMA representatives recalled that, in june 2022, Moderna received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the application of its COVID-19 (mRNA-1273) vaccine in children 6 months to 5 years of age at a dose of 25 μg.

Similarly, Moderna received emergency use approval for a 2-dose regimen of 50 μg of mRNA-1273 for children 6 to 11 years of age and a 2-dose regimen of 100 μg for adolescents 12 to 17 years of age.

As they noted, clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and tolerability of Moderna's mRNA-1273 vaccine in all pediatric age groups, with no fatal or unexpected outcomes reported to date.

The congress held by the  Asociación de Pediatría in the framework of its 75th anniversary, seeks to publicize all these efforts that are being made to strengthen the knowledge of health professionals in order to make care for children and adolescents more efficient, humane and of the highest quality.

"Many things have changed in the practice of pediatrics: now we have a lot of technology, better facilities, laboratory and imaging support, better medicines; but our institutional mission remains the same: to ensure that every child in our country has quality health services, comprehensive welfare, universal education and equal opportunities", said the president of Asociación de Pediatría de El Salvador, Dr. Rodrigo Siman Siri.

Translated by: A.M