Vulnerable under 10s and vaccine.

[CaptainAwkward]

I’ve tried googling but had mixed results.
Friend has a DD with cerebral palsy and has been shielding since the start.
They’ve decided to restrict any siblings/family members mixing until their DD is vaccinated.
Planning ahead does anyone have any knowledge about the timeframe for when under 10s will be offered the vaccine?

Its possible that they never will be

Really @Hellocatshome? I suppose the risk factors are low across the whole cohort.

I’m quite worried about this family though. They took all 4 DC out of school (primary and high) a year ago to sheild the DD with CP. The young teenager hasn’t seen any friends and is being homeschooled but parents are obviously struggling with 3 other younger children too.

If there isn’t a vaccine on the horizon for the DD with disabilities then we’re worried they’ll be isolating indefinitely

Don’t think there is any vaccine approved for that age. There might be some at the end of the year

They're doing trials in the states on children starting at 6. They're vaccinating teenagers over there with Pfizer. BoJo said they start vaccinating highschool children starting in September.

I'd imagine your friends child will be able to get a vaccine. They need to speak to their consultant.

I think it's currently only slated to go down to 12, that's what's in trials now. Whether it will then liicenced for younger, vulnerable children, maybe?

Before the AZ trials were paused, ds's paediatrician thought that cev under 12s would be looking at sometime between Oct and Dec. It now looks as though vulnerable children may have to wait for Pfizer trials in under 12s, which will mean hopefully early next year.

They might be able to get one a bit sooner if their consultant thinks it appropriate? Not sure about under 12 though. Are they keeping their other children off school and not allowing them to meet any friends at all? That is a bit worrying if that carries on all summer.

@CaptainAwkward

How sad. It sounds like they need some support in how to move forwards from here. Obviously how a child is affected by CP is a spectrum - have they previously had input from social services in terms of respite care etc. Because maybe that is one way of getting someone to speak to them? I mean this with the greatest respect, but it seems like they are struggling with being able to manage the risk and the change in situation - so may be needing some professional input to try and assess what is happening and to help the family move forward.

What about the other children's schools? Are they involved in supporting the family at all?

www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/news/message-paediatricians-children-young-people-covid-19-vaccination-programme

Vaccinations for younger children isn't happening anytime soon, so this family may need to professional help in coming to terms with that and in realising there are other risks for their other children if they don't start to move forward. But its a very tricky and difficult situation.

This is so depressing. Youngest dd (7) is CEV. We're not shielding anymore and at the moment grateful that rates are pretty low, but I was hoping a vaccine for children might at least be on the horizon.

@MrsFrisbyMouse I hadn't seen that statement, althought the advice is the same as it was when the vaccine programme started. I wonder if there wil be any changes now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for over 12s in the US? I believe trials are underway there with younger children also.
We are waiting to hear from ds's paed about an appointment, so it will be interesting to ask him.

A month or so back, my local paper ran a story about a very vulnerable, profoundly disabled child being vaccinated through their consultant. It wasn't licenced but the consultant agreed that with the child's general level of vulnerability, it was worth having the vaccine as the child is exposed to multiple carers for personal care and support and has a high risk of serious illness or death.

While I'm cautious about the issue of generally vaccinating healthy children in terms of risk/ benefit at this point, it is different where there are specific health concerns in vulnerable children so as the age of licencing comes down, there could be potential for case by case considerations.

The picture will probably become clearer in the autumn.

I’m trying to sort a vaccine for my DD who is CEV so I understand this. It will be interesting to see what happens next in the 12-16 age range. There’s approval now in Canada and US for the Pfizer jab, and I hope there will be soon in UK and EU. So how will this be adopted in the UK vaccine Green book vs vulnerabilities? I suspect that even with this development, under 12 will be tricky to get off-licence. The Pfizer site says trials started March 21 for 6-11 age. The 12-16 trial was from July 20 so if the younger trial is similar timelines, then approval would be a while off in 2022.

It looks as though the AZ trial (6+ years) has been un-paused.

Yeah, we’re really concerned that the other children are isolated from their friends. The young teen girl hasn’t ‘seen’ any of her friends (including our D.C.) for over a year.

The parents have given up the school places for all children as they ‘didn’t like the lack of social distancing’ for the y4s and Y5s.
I’m really worried for the eldest’s mental health as apparently her DM was surprised when they ventured to the shop together and the girl was jumpy/anxious.