Rushed Decisions Lead To Regret: Part 1

The New Zealand Ministry of Health have indicated that they are now actively considering the Pfizer covid-19 vaccine for New Zealand Children age from 5 to 11 years old.¹ This follows its approval for use in New Zealand children aged 12 to 15 years on Monday 21^st June, by ‘Medsafe’, New Zealand’s drug regulator.² 

Other countries including USA, Canada, China and the European Commission have also approved the vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 years old. China has authorised vaccination for children from three years of age. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) advise that children and adolescents have milder disease than adults and therefore more evidence is needed on different covid-19 vaccines for this age group, which has prevented them from making general recommendations for their use.³ 

In the UK  the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) concluded that the health benefits gained by vaccination of 12 – 15 year old children are only marginally greater than the potential and known harms. And that this margin of benefit was too small to support universal vaccination of healthy 12 to 15 year old children.⁴ Since covid-19 itself poses little risk of fatality to children, and the exposure to a vaccine entails risks which are now poorly understood, we examine them in more detail here.

Recently, an Auckland Professor of Epidemiology, regarding covid-19 vaccination stated:

“The Government has introduced (vaccine) mandates in health – total no-brainer. They’ve also introduced one in education for all the staff – total no-brainer. They need to introduce the same mandate for 12-and-over children”.⁵

To date, a decision to roll out the vaccine to children aged 5 – 11 years has not been made. We question the idea that vaccine mandates are a “no-brainer”, particularly for children. Specifically, we believe that for children, emerging data indicates that such a policy will lead to more harm than good. We urge a precautionary approach be taken and that any plans for the vaccination of children be delayed for three important reasons.

To be continued…

This research did not receive any specific funding.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

1. 1 News. Children could be next in line for covid-19 vaccine. Monday 13 September 2021. Accessed 4 October 2021. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/children-could-next-in-line-covid-19-vaccine

2. Neilson M and Cheng D. Covid 19 coronavirus: Medsafe approves Pfizer vaccine for New Zealand 12-15 year olds. [Internet] New Zealand Herald. 21 June 2021. [cited 9 July 2021] Available from: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-coronavirus-medsafe-approves-pfizer-vaccine-for-new-zealand-12-15-year-olds/3D2OPZZLOPOOMXY6LJT43Z4F2A/

3. WHO. COVID-19 Advice for the Public: Getting Vaccinated. [Internet] WHO. 22 June 2021. [cited 9 July 2021] Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines/advice

4. Public Health England. Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. JVCI issues updated advice on COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 12 to 15. Published 3 September 2021. Accessed 4 October 2021.  https://www.gov.uk/government/news/jcvi-issues-updated-advice-on-covid-19-vaccination-of-children-aged-12-to-15

5. Wilkins, Alice. Coronavirus: Expert calls for mandatory student vaccinations as senior high schoolers in level 3 return for in-person learning. Newshub. 25 October 2021. https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/10/coronavirus-expert-calls-for-mandatory-student-vaccinations-as-senior-high-schoolers-in-level-3-return-for-in-person-learning.html

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