The vaccination of teenagers is scheduled to begin, for those between 12 and 17 years of age, two weeks before the start of the 2021-2022 school year. This was announced by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, so that ESO and Baccalaureate students would start the school year vaccinated or almost vaccinated. All this, with the approval of the European Medicines Agency, said the president.
As yet it is not known what will happen with children under 12 years of age. Will the decision be made to vaccinate them? At what age will the limit be set? Leaving the youngest children unvaccinated would mean, according to experts, leaving 10% or 15% of the population unimmunised. What effects could this have on the transmission of the virus?
There is little information on children’s immune response against COVID-19 because the incidence has been so low. Hardly any cases have been detected in these age groups. Hence the need for research. The final decision will depend on the conclusion of clinical trials that are currently underway. Many of the approved COVID vaccines have begun paediatric trials. “There are several studies underway in children aged 6 to 11 years old and 6 months to 5 years old”, says Juan Gestal, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Santiago and former dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
“Adolescents between the ages of 12 to 17 are at lower risk of severe COVID-19, but they can transmit the virus and their vaccination will help to further limit its circulation and achieve herd immunity, shortening the path towards normality, and allowing the reduction of many prevention measures in schools which will enable face-to-face teaching to take place”, Gestal says. He adds that this is already being done in the United States.
“Since the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents ages 12 to 15 on May 10th, several states in the United States are vaccinating schoolchildren so they can attend summer camps. In Spain they will be vaccinated in the second fortnight in August or the first in September ”, adds the expert.
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