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Vaccination against COVID-19: risks and benefits in children

Vaccination against COVID-19: risks and benefits in children
Vaccination against COVID-19: risks and benefits in children

Countries in Europe and around the world have taken varying approaches to their policies on COVID-19 vaccination for children. The low risk of severe illness from COVID-19 means that even small risks from vaccination warrant careful consideration. Vaccination appears to result in a decreased risk of severe illness including the paediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome known to be associated with COVID-19. These risks have already decreased significantly with the emergence of the Omicron variant and its subvariants, and due to widespread population immunity through previous infection. There is a relatively high risk of myocarditis following second doses of mRNA vaccines in adolescent males, although the general course of this condition appears mild. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination only provides a transient reduction in transmission. Currently, insufficient evidence exists to determine the impact of vaccination on post-acute COVID syndromes in children, which are uncommon. What is Known: • Vaccines against COVID-19 have significantly reduced morbidity and mortality around the world. • Whilst countries have universally recommended vaccines for adults and continue to recommend them for vulnerable populations, there has been more variability in recommendations for children. What is New: • In the setting of near universal existing immunity from infection, the majority of the initial benefit in protecting against severe illness has been eroded. • The risks of myocarditis following mRNA vaccination for children is low, but an important consideration given the modest benefits.

COVID-19, Immunisation, Long COVID, MIS-C, PIMS-TS, Vaccination
0340-6199
1107-1112
Munro, Alasdair P.S.
9150e088-1921-4b12-9b98-289e91fa0b2b
Jones, Christine E.
48229079-8b58-4dcb-8374-d9481fe7b426
Faust, Saul N.
f97df780-9f9b-418e-b349-7adf63e150c1
Munro, Alasdair P.S.
9150e088-1921-4b12-9b98-289e91fa0b2b
Jones, Christine E.
48229079-8b58-4dcb-8374-d9481fe7b426
Faust, Saul N.
f97df780-9f9b-418e-b349-7adf63e150c1

Munro, Alasdair P.S., Jones, Christine E. and Faust, Saul N. (2024) Vaccination against COVID-19: risks and benefits in children. European Journal of Pediatrics, 183 (3), 1107-1112. (doi:10.1007/s00431-023-05380-8).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Countries in Europe and around the world have taken varying approaches to their policies on COVID-19 vaccination for children. The low risk of severe illness from COVID-19 means that even small risks from vaccination warrant careful consideration. Vaccination appears to result in a decreased risk of severe illness including the paediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome known to be associated with COVID-19. These risks have already decreased significantly with the emergence of the Omicron variant and its subvariants, and due to widespread population immunity through previous infection. There is a relatively high risk of myocarditis following second doses of mRNA vaccines in adolescent males, although the general course of this condition appears mild. Conclusion: COVID-19 vaccination only provides a transient reduction in transmission. Currently, insufficient evidence exists to determine the impact of vaccination on post-acute COVID syndromes in children, which are uncommon. What is Known: • Vaccines against COVID-19 have significantly reduced morbidity and mortality around the world. • Whilst countries have universally recommended vaccines for adults and continue to recommend them for vulnerable populations, there has been more variability in recommendations for children. What is New: • In the setting of near universal existing immunity from infection, the majority of the initial benefit in protecting against severe illness has been eroded. • The risks of myocarditis following mRNA vaccination for children is low, but an important consideration given the modest benefits.

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Accepted/In Press date: 10 December 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 January 2024
Published date: March 2024
Additional Information: AM, CJ and SF have their salaries paid in part by the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility and Biomedical Research Centre. Publisher Copyright: © 2024, The Author(s). Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
Keywords: COVID-19, Immunisation, Long COVID, MIS-C, PIMS-TS, Vaccination

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 486305
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/486305
ISSN: 0340-6199
PURE UUID: 50b16e68-c496-4f0c-afd0-8cd87105c752
ORCID for Christine E. Jones: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1523-2368
ORCID for Saul N. Faust: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3410-7642

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 17 Jan 2024 17:31
Last modified: 02 May 2024 01:49

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Contributors

Author: Alasdair P.S. Munro
Author: Saul N. Faust ORCID iD

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