Are you getting your primary age child vaccinated?

[TunnelOfGoats]

Just had a text from our GP asking us to book a vaccine for our DS 8yo. I've had 3 vaccines and was happy to do so, but I'm hesitating about booking one for my DS. Trying to find out other people's opinions and whether you will be getting your DC vaccinated? Thanks

No they have had Covid and were absolutely fine

No, as per Gsvi advise this vaccine isn’t great against latest variant plus they had covid already
There is good evidence that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 paediatric vaccine (10mcg, Comirnaty®) induces a strong immune response to vaccination. The currently available vaccine was developed based on the original wild-type SARS-CoV2 virus and is less well-matched to the Omicron variant. Therefore, whilst the current vaccine provides good protection against non-severe infection due to the wild type, Alpha and Delta variants, protection against non-severe infection due to the Omicron variant is less good and is anticipated to be of relatively short-duration (weeks). Data from adults indicate that vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection due to Omicron (Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine) wanes over time from around 70% shortly after 2 vaccine doses to around 25% after 10 weeks and 10% after 20 weeks.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-update-on-advice-for-covid-19-vaccination-of-children-aged-5-to-11/jcvi-statement-on-vaccination-of-children-aged-5-to-11-years-old

10 year old is double vaccinated has asthma fairly severely - been very poorly previously and hasn’t had covid so no idea how it’ll affect him so yes he had the vaccinations and my 12 year old just had his first one.

@Hiheyho please read the paper you’ve commented on. Particularly the discussion.

www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2119451

While you’re correct that protection against mild infection wanes significantly in adults by 20 weeks, they surmise that protection against severe disease will be well maintained, as with the delta variant.

“Estimating effectiveness against severe disease caused by the omicron variant will follow a lag; however, on the basis of experience with other variants and early estimates of hospitalization rates, vaccine effectiveness against severe disease is likely to be substantially higher than the estimates against symptomatic disease.”

“ Our findings indicate that two doses of vaccination with BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 are insufficient to give adequate levels of protection against infection with the omicron variant and mild disease. Boosting with BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 provided a substantial increase in protection against mild disease, although waning occurred over time. Boosters will probably offer even greater levels of protection against severe and fatal disease. Our findings support maximizing coverage with third doses of vaccine in highly vaccinated populations such as in the United Kingdom. Further follow-up will be needed to assess protection against severe disease and the duration of protection after booster vaccination.”

i.e. the vaccines can’t in the long term keep you from getting omicron or a mild infection. But they can keep you from developing severe illness and long term complications and they’re continuing to monitor things while recommending boosters for adults….
If the data come back showing the vaccine is pointless it won’t be recommended. Currently that isn’t the case.

• Note that study participants are adults over 18. Not children, as you can see in the methods. Confounding factors are outlined in the discussion.

Differences in immune system from birth to old age here
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4707740/

Many thanks for the info, my point was that I cannot see any benefit for my kids to be vaccinated with 2020 product which isn’t effective for 2022 variant as per official guidance

No. No way.
And one of them has a transplant. Her consultants have never mentioned it despite being very insistent she has the flu vaccine every year.
She’s on immune suppression and had Covid recently mildly. I trust and follow her doctors’ advice so won’t be getting her or her siblings vaxed.
Especially after how the vax affected me 🤢
No way would I put any child through that.

Undecided re DD6 who's not had covid as far as we know. I'll feel guilty either way if she develops complications from either covid or vaccine I'll never forgive myself for my decision.

I just struggle at this point to see the benefit of vaccination if it doesn’t prevent infection or transmission, and only works for a few weeks. The main advantage is to prevent serious illness but this is unlikely in kids anyway. What is the data on vaccinated 5-11s and long covid?

I am not sure but Dh wants dc vaccinated. They both have had delta last summer and now had cold recently ( lfts were negative but you never know because their school friends had covid). Both times very mild.

No. My 6 year old is type 1 diabetic. She’s had covid, she didn’t even have a sniffle.

I have had 2 vaccines but not the booster as I had a natural booster in the form of covid

@Hiheyho completely respect your position. They are your kids and completely up to you.

Just to explain the waning immunity for non severe infection isn’t really an issue. With an endemic, widespread and quickly evolving virus such as covid, it is impossible to have a perfect match and the goal of vaccination is not sterilising immunity but to prevent death, severe disease and hospitalisation. Which Pfizer is still doing.

By the time an omicron version would be released new variants would have emerged and it makes no sense to tailor a new vaccine for a less pathogenic version of the virus.

As per official guidance:

“Overall, the committee agreed that the potential health benefits of vaccination are greater than the potential health risks”

“In contrast to the protection provided against non-severe infection, vaccine-induced protection against severe disease (hospitalisation and deaths) is expected to be good and maintained for much longer, as evidenced in the UK data for adults.”

It's finely balanced but we had decided to vaccinate DS(7) because while the current variant is less severe, future ones may not be. But a few days before it opened to his age group he tested positive so we'll need to wait 12 weeks.

@Halloweenrainbow it’s too early for data on the impact of vaccination 5-11 on long covid. However a review article came out in February showing the risk was halved in adults.
www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o407

Preliminary findings from the CLoCk study (the largest study into long covid in children 11-17) has shown 14% have symptoms 15wks on from infection. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/sep/first-findings-worlds-largest-study-long-covid-children

Other studies have included those in 5-11 age range with long covid occurring in 7.4 - 50%.
adc.bmj.com/content/107/3/e2.full
www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o143.full
www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01935-7

Numerous other papers available via google scholar on long covid and kids for info. There is a charity set up now as well, obviously that will be biased but details all the symptoms multi systemic disease.
www.longcovidkids.org/

NIH have ongoing research too amongst others so maybe look to studies such as these for updates, may be years before the full extent is known. covid19.nih.gov/news-and-stories/understanding-long-term-effects-covid-19-children

@00Robinni

Loads of useful info, thanks!

We gave our just turned 10yr old the choice, said that we thought it would be a good idea to have it but it is totally her choice, she's booked in next week.

We gave our just turned 10yr old the choice, said that we thought it would be a good idea to have it but it is totally her choice, she's booked in next week.

It's great that you're giving your child a choice but I personally find that quite a big responsibility for a 9/10 year old. I guess she's relying on your advice to get vaccinated!

Yes, all my kids have had Covid. Relatively mildly but who knows if a nastier variant that does affect children appears.

@user1471509171

Yes, all my kids have had Covid. Relatively mildly but who knows if a nastier variant that does affect children appears.

We have said that if the virus mutates and becomes much more dangerous for children, then we reserve the right to change our minds and have them vaccinated. Until then - no.

@Lipsandlashes that’s fair enough, there are a lot thinking that way, the recommendation is non-urgent at present.

Just as long as you’re aware the vaccine doesn’t give instantaneous protection - the immune response from the first jab takes about 14 days, and maximum response would be 12 - 14 weeks from the date of first jab following administration of the second dose. So in the event a worse variant appeared tomorrow there would be a three month period of increased risk to negotiate by contrast to a vaccinated child (that’s assuming the vaccine remains efficacious against said new variant).