Parents who decide not to vaccinate their younger children against Covid-19 have been told they face a greater risk of missing school and other activities through contracting the virus.
The warning comes as part of a public information campaign rolled out on Tuesday, designed to answer numerous questions parents and guardians may have before making a decision.
“Registration for the vaccine will open shortly,” the HSE said on Tuesday, launching the information drive, “with priority being placed on children who are more at risk from Covid-19.”
The HSE, through an online information page, says: “If you decide not to get your child vaccinated, there is a greater risk they could get Covid-19.
“Their symptoms will most likely be mild if they get the virus, but they will still need to isolate from others. This means they may miss school and other activities.”
Children aged five to 11 will be offered a lower dose of Pfizer BioNTech, known as Comirnaty, and will require two doses, three weeks apart. The HSE has said that despite the smaller quantity, the immunity will be similar to the higher dose vaccine used in older age groups.
MRNA vaccines teach the body to make a protein that triggers an immune response without using the live virus that causes Covid-19. The body can then produce antibodies to help fight the infection should the virus enter the system.
According to the information campaign, thousands of people have been vaccinated as part of clinical trials around the world and “no new safety concerns were reported in children aged five to 15”.
Long-Covid
This vaccine has been given to millions of children in the five to 15 age group in the US, Canada and Israel and it is recommended in other European countries.
“Very rarely, people may develop myocarditis and pericarditis after getting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Myocarditis and pericarditis are inflammatory heart conditions. The risk of these very rare conditions is higher in younger men,” the dedicated HSE web page says.
“Early data from other countries shows myocarditis is less likely in those aged 12-15 than those aged 16-24. Data on children aged 5-11 is very limited so far.”
As has been well established, the majority of children who contract Covid-19 have very mild or no symptoms at all. However, they are required to isolate from other people to prevent spreading it.
Other upsides of the vaccine, according to medical experts, is that it can help prevent a child developing long-Covid symptoms such as fatigue, which can continue for weeks or months.
In rare cases the virus has caused a condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), also known as paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS). This causes pneumonia, inflammation of the heart, difficulty breathing and can prove fatal in some cases. Most reported cases were recorded in boys between the ages of one and 14.
Dr Lucy Jessop, director of the National Immunisation Office (NIO), acknowledged that parents would have concerns and questions.
“We also know that they want to get information from a trusted source like the HSE, their GP or other healthcare professionals,” she said.
On Tuesday, Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman announced the introduction from December 15th of an antigen testing programme for responding to Covid-19 cases in early learning and childcare services.
Under the programme, antigen tests will be available to children aged four and over and staff in a pod where there is a confirmed Covid-19 case.
Restrictions
Meanwhile, the Department of Education said there were no plans to close schools early ahead of the Christmas break.
Some health experts and school principals have suggested that early closure could limit the spread of Covid-19 .
However, a spokesman for the department said the scheduling of school holiday periods are not due to change.
“There are no plans to alter the school break at Christmas. There is no evidence to suggest that extending school holidays has a public health rationale,” a department spokesman said.
Primary and secondary schools are due to close for the Christmas break on Wednesday, December 22nd and reopen on Thursday, January 6th.
Dublin City University professor of immunology Christine Loscher said closing schools this Friday would minimise children’s exposure to the virus, especially in light of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
“This will give a decent circuit breaker and ensure we can open schools in January,” she said.
Denmark announced last week that it was closing schools early due to the threat posed by the Omicron variant, while the UK government said it will only close schools early in the event of an “absolute public health emergency”.
Some principals here say they expect many parents will opt to keep their children at home next week for safety reasons.
Matt Melvin, principal of St Etchen’s National School in Kinnegad, Co Westmeath, said his school was organising its Christmas events this week in case they were advised to close early.
“We’re preparing, just in case,” he said. “Whatever decision that is taken should be in the best interests of public health and children – but it must be taken quickly.”
