Parents need to be convinced about safety of COVID jab for kids: Paediatricians
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has recommended to the government that study data has to be provided to the paediatricians and parents before embarking on any COVID-19 vaccination programs for children.
- Dec 17, 2021,
- Updated Dec 17, 2021 3:44 PM IST
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has stated that paediatricians and parents have to be convinced about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines before it is administered to children. IAP recommend the government that study data has to be provided to the paediatricians and parents before conducting any COVID-19 vaccination drive for children.
The association of Indian paediatricians has also stated that it supports a school-based vaccination program for children. It believes that this is the quickest way to achieve maximum immunisation coverage. However, this should not be made mandatory. Parents should be offered a choice of administering the COVID-19 vaccine to their children either in schools or in the clinics of their paediatricians.
IAP has recommended administering currently available COVID-19 vaccines and other scheduled childhood vaccines, either simultaneously or at any interval between them, according to India Today.
IAP added school-based centres should have medical personnel trained to handle emergencies, nursing and administrative staff, emergency medications and equipment, tie-up with the closest hospital for emergency care, and immediate availability of transport to the referral hospitals.
The association has also recommended the setting up of an active and passive surveillance mechanism for adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines among children. In children with acute illnesses, the vaccination may be postponed till clinical recovery, according to IAP.
It also added that immunodeficiencies due to drugs or diseases are not contraindications for the COVID-19 vaccines to be rolled out for children. The COVID-19 jabs approved for children are inactivated vaccines.
The association stated that studies should be initiated to determine the duration of protection and efficacy against variants of the coronavirus. This data will be important for booster dose recommendations.
IAP also has strongly recommended that its members should be made a part of the vaccination process for children, either by vaccinating in their clinics or as a part of the government initiative. It noted that paediatricians' rapport with children and their parents will provide the most reassuring situation for vaccination of children in clinics and can also lessen vaccine hesitancy and vaccine refusal.
Also Read: COVID-19: CDC recommends Pfizer, Moderna vaccines over J&J's
Also Read: New drug could treat patients hospitalised with COVID pneumonia: Lancet study
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has stated that paediatricians and parents have to be convinced about the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines before it is administered to children. IAP recommend the government that study data has to be provided to the paediatricians and parents before conducting any COVID-19 vaccination drive for children.
The association of Indian paediatricians has also stated that it supports a school-based vaccination program for children. It believes that this is the quickest way to achieve maximum immunisation coverage. However, this should not be made mandatory. Parents should be offered a choice of administering the COVID-19 vaccine to their children either in schools or in the clinics of their paediatricians.
IAP has recommended administering currently available COVID-19 vaccines and other scheduled childhood vaccines, either simultaneously or at any interval between them, according to India Today.
IAP added school-based centres should have medical personnel trained to handle emergencies, nursing and administrative staff, emergency medications and equipment, tie-up with the closest hospital for emergency care, and immediate availability of transport to the referral hospitals.
The association has also recommended the setting up of an active and passive surveillance mechanism for adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines among children. In children with acute illnesses, the vaccination may be postponed till clinical recovery, according to IAP.
It also added that immunodeficiencies due to drugs or diseases are not contraindications for the COVID-19 vaccines to be rolled out for children. The COVID-19 jabs approved for children are inactivated vaccines.
The association stated that studies should be initiated to determine the duration of protection and efficacy against variants of the coronavirus. This data will be important for booster dose recommendations.
IAP also has strongly recommended that its members should be made a part of the vaccination process for children, either by vaccinating in their clinics or as a part of the government initiative. It noted that paediatricians' rapport with children and their parents will provide the most reassuring situation for vaccination of children in clinics and can also lessen vaccine hesitancy and vaccine refusal.
Also Read: COVID-19: CDC recommends Pfizer, Moderna vaccines over J&J's
Also Read: New drug could treat patients hospitalised with COVID pneumonia: Lancet study