Paediatricians bat for Covid-19 vaccine for children as cases rise

Doctors say they are seeing an increase in children with Covid infection

As Covid-19 cases rise again, doctors are advising that children, especially the school-going ones, be given the vaccine as a precautionary measure. While no break-up is available on the proportion of children in the total active caseload in the country, the instances of infections among kids have gone up significantly, doctors say. 

“If I was getting one child a month ago, now I see 10 children who are Covid positive every day. And if a child has it, then parents and grandparents get it too since this variant spreads very quickly,” said Nitin Verma, associate director general, paediatrics, at the Delhi-based Rainbow Children’s Hospital. 

Although symptoms are mild in most cases and children recover quickly, a recent study by Translational Health Science Technology Institute (THSTI), a department of biotechnology institution in Faridabad, found that across all three waves, severely infected hospitalised children fared much poorly in India compared to those in high-income countries. The study conducted among 2,000 hospitalised children found that the death rates among those with severe Covid-19 were “much higher” in India than in the developed countries. 

The THSTI study said that two-thirds of the children covered had underlying health conditions as well. 

The researchers found that the mortality rate was as high as 18.6 per cent, which is 10-fold of the 1.8 to 2 per cent seen in hospitalised children with severe Covid-19 in high-income countries.

While vaccines do not prevent infections, doctors agree that they could protect against severe disease even among children. In India, only children aged 12 and above are allowed to get the Covid vaccine, while in countries such as the US the vaccine can be administered to children as young as six months.  

“As paediatricians we believe in vaccination for vaccine-preventable diseases, and therefore, this option should be available to parents,” said Jesal Sheth, senior consultant-Paediatrician, Fortis Hospital in Mumbai’s Mulund area. 

Sheth said that the government could consider making it optional for parents and offer paid vaccines for children. “Children spend time with their grandparents and they can carry the disease to the vulnerable. Moreover, children of healthcare or essential workers are at a higher risk of getting the infection themselves,” she said. 

Doctors are also advising parents not to send their kids to school if they are unwell or have any flu-like symptoms such as cold, cough, sore throat and even conjunctivitis. Many schools have issued advisories to parents as well, while also taking steps such as regular temperature checks, mandatory wearing of masks for all staff and students, frequent hand-washing and social distancing protocols. 

“We are closely monitoring the situation and looking for any recommendations from public health authorities so that we can quickly adapt and adjust our approach as needed,” Girish Kumar, chief safety and security officer, EuroKids and Kangaroo Kids, said while issuing an advisory for parents. 

Asmita Mahajan, consultant neonatologist and paediatrician, SL Raheja Hospital in Mumbai, said that it was important to take the flu shot for children now. “Since a vaccine is not yet available for young children, it is important that parents give the flu shot to children as this would at least rule out the possibilities of high-fever etc that are associated with influenza,” she said. 

As far as Covid vaccination goes, paediatricians feel that it could be done in a phased manner.

“It is a new vaccine and we don’t want it to do any damage. Vaccines in India are safe compared to mRNA vaccines, which have been found to have a lot of side effects,” Verma added.

Meanwhile, those above the age of 18 years continue to dominate fresh vaccinations. They accounted for 89.6 per cent of weekly vaccinations as of Saturday (April 22), the latest available date. The share of those between 12 and 14 years of age had reached double-digit figures around the second week of April. This has since tapered down. They accounted for 7.6 per cent of vaccinations over the preceding seven days, as of Saturday. The share for those between 15 and 17 years of age was 2.8 per cent.

The increase in vaccination since March has largely been in the youngest group. Those aged between 12 and 14 years only had a 0.7 per cent share in weekly vaccinations as of March-end (see chart).