Original title: How to get children vaccinated against COVID-19 How to be safe? Expert interpretation
Covid-19 vaccination of minors has been receiving widespread attention. In the current round of the epidemic in Tianjin, there has been a cluster of children in custody classes and schools. Many parents are worried about their children's infection with the new crown virus on the one hand, and still have concerns about vaccination on the other hand. Is it necessary to get the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 3-11 years? Listen to the interpretation of authoritative experts.
Vaccinations are a powerful weapon in the fight against COVID-19. Children's childcare institutions or schools are relatively densely populated places, and once infected with the new crown virus, it is easy to cause widespread transmission and epidemic. However, we found in the interview that some parents are still worried about vaccinating their children against COVID-19.
Parents of young children: Children have more colds in winter, and they have been coughing recently, and if they play at this time, I don't know if it is good for his body.
Covid-19 vaccination is necessary for people aged 3-11 years
As of January 14, more than 2.9 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been reported nationwide. Many parents believe that the adults in the family have been vaccinated against the new crown, is it still necessary for the children to be vaccinated?
Zhang Yuntao, chairman of the Quality Committee of the China Vaccine Association: It should be said that most of the adults over the age of 18 should be received and all the seeds should be completed. In fact, now the child has become a group of virus attacks, is a sensitive group, so vaccination at this age is still very necessary, after the completion of this age group is easy to form to block the spread of the virus, the formation of the population immune barrier.
Adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines at 3-11 years are lower than in adults
So, how safe and effective is the COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 3-11?
Zhang Yuntao, chairman of the Quality Committee of the China Vaccine Association: When launching the entire new crown immunization, the first thing is to start from the age group of 18 to 59 years old, and after this age group completes the vaccination, the age group is expanded to more than 60 years old, and gradually from 3 to 17 years old, such a strategy is adopted. Judging from the data from the clinical studies we have conducted and the data obtained in the age group of 3 to 17 years old, the safety of children is still very good, and the incidence of adverse reactions is slightly lower than the data of the entire adult population.
The data show that the incidence of severe abnormal reactions reported by all age groups in the mainland population vaccinated against COVID-19 is less than one in a million, and the incidence of 3-11 years old is lower than that of adults and adolescents.
Zhang Yuntao, chairman of the Quality Committee of the China Vaccine Association: In fact, (adverse reactions) are mainly local pain, transient fever, mainly focusing on these characteristics. If it is not particularly extreme, in fact, let the child rest for a day or two, and no special measures can be taken.
Experts said that a few days before vaccination or on the day of vaccination, if the child has symptoms of physical discomfort such as fever, cough, diarrhea, or during the acute onset of chronic diseases, it is recommended to postpone the vaccination and then vaccinate after the symptoms basically subside. Children with food allergies should be vaccinated if they are in the acute reaction period of allergies, or if eczema, atopic dermatitis, etc. appear on the skin at the vaccination site; if there are no symptoms of these allergies, all vaccinations can be given normally. In addition, the new crown vaccine is not recommended to be given at the same time as other vaccines.
Zhang Yuntao, chairman of the Quality Committee of the China Vaccine Association: There should be 14 days of intervals between vaccinations between inactivated vaccines.
In order to ease the children's nervousness, many parents also work with vaccination site and kindergarten staff to find ways.
Parents of young children Kong Hao: Before the vaccination, our kindergarten was in the form of picture book videos, and we were guided at home through this video, including telling her stories.
Lv Le, parents of young children: As a parent, it is because we are particularly assured of the safety of vaccines, so we basically have no worries, because we adults have also been vaccinated. The state has spent a lot of resources to let us get vaccinated free of charge, and we should do our part as citizens.
Children also need to maintain good hygiene practices to prevent COVID-19
In addition to vaccination, experts suggest that children should prevent new crown pneumonia, but also let children maintain good hygiene habits and adhere to personal health protection.
Liu Jing, director of Beijing Soong Ching Ling Kindergarten: We will teach children to wash their hands frequently, and use this form of story nursery rhymes to let children master the seven-step handwashing method. We also made small awards for little health guards, as well as small prizes, which also encouraged children to bravely go to the vaccine.
Source: CCTV news client