Ema and Aifa insist: "Pfizer effective and safe for children, 5-11 year-olds for Covid increase"

“Reassuring” data on the safety and efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine in children aged between 5 and 11 years.

Word of the European Medicines Agency. Ema points out that "no safety problems emerged from the large vaccination campaign on children of this age group in the United States".

“Epidemiological data - emphasizes Ema - show that infections and hospitalizations of children between the ages of 5 and 11 have been increasing in recent months. While children at risk of severely contracting Covid-19 should have priority, all children in this age group should be considered for vaccination. "

Even the AIFA CEO Nicola Magrini tries to reassure parents: "The evaluation of reactions to Covid vaccines takes place from an exchange of information at a global level, at the time of approval by Ema and Aifa in the USA they had already been vaccinated 3,5 millions of children without warning signs, and Israel's figures have also been taken into account ”.

On myocarditis "the phenomenon is being watched by Ema, which has released the data for the over 12s and indicates a very rare risk in the order of one in 20 thousand subjects".

“Although the Covid infection has a more benign course among children - underlines Magrini -, in some cases it can develop serious consequences both in the short and long term, for example the multisystem syndrome that can lead to hospitalization in intensive care. The vaccine pivotal study shows the vaccine's high level of efficacy and there are other benefits as well, such as being able to attend school. On the basis of this, the Cts Aifa commission approved the vaccine for this range in the exclusive use of the pediatric formulation ".

RECALLS AND OMICRON - The head of the Ema vaccines task force, Marco Cavaleri, reiterated that "the current recommendation is to administer booster doses preferably after six months", but added that "the available data support safe and effective administration of a booster dose as early as three months after completion of the primary vaccination ".

On the new variant, preliminary data suggest that the cases "seem to be mostly mild", but Cavaleri highlights the need to "collect more evidence to determine if the severity spectrum of the disease is different from that of all the variants that have circulated so far".

(Unioneonline / L)