What parents need to know about COVID-19 vaccine for children five to 11 - StCatharinesStandard.ca

Many parents lined up eagerly when it was their turn to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. But when it comes to their young children, they have lingering questions and concerns.

Health Canada has already reviewed and authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 12 and older. Currently, it is reviewing Pfizer’s submission for use in children ages five- to 11-years old.

With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) having authorized the shot for children as young as five earlier this week, the expectation is the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is likely weeks away from being authorized by Health Canada.

The Standard spoke with Niagara’s acting medical officer of health Dr. Mustafa Hirji, as well as Brock University’s associate professor in health sciences, Adam J. MacNeil, to help answers questions for concerned parents.

Hirji, who was appointed acting medical officer in January 2018, holds an MD from the University of Calgary and a masters of public health in epidemiology from the University of Toronto.

MacNeil received his Ph.D. from Dalhousie University in cell/cellular and molecular biology and teaches courses in human immunology, medical immunology, topics in infection and immunity and infection control at Brock.

Both provided their knowledge to assist in presenting clear and concise facts about the vaccine and help alleviate any remaining hesitancy and concerns for parents in Niagara.

DOSAGE INFORMATION

Children five- to 11-years old will receive two low doses, three weeks apart, of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The dosage, which will be delivered to kids with a smaller needle, is just one-third of the amount given to teens and adults.

To avoid any mix-ups, the vials for children will have orange caps, rather than the purple-capped adult vaccine.

If approved, the federal government is expecting 2.9 million child-sized doses, enough for every child to receive their first dose.

POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS

Hirji said the side effects in children will look similar to what Canadians have already experienced so far, including pain, redness and swelling at the point of injection, as well as potential fatigue, headaches, chills and muscle aches.

Hirji added the side effects “last maybe a day or two and then goes away.”

HAS THE VACCINE BEEN AROUND LONG ENOUGH?

The fundamental technology in mRNA vaccines is more than two decades old and is part of our natural biology, said MacNeil.

“The brilliance of the mRNA vaccines is in hitchhiking on this natural biology which is extremely well-understood, to create small pieces of protein that look just like the virus and thereby teaching your immune system about what the virus looks like,” said MacNeil.

“It’s like having the best scouting report on an opposing team you could ever imagine and then that team showing up and doing exactly what the scouting report said they would do.”

HOW MESSENGER RNA (mRNA) WORKS

It is widely known that the mRNA vaccine have to be put in “super cool freezers” for storage and Hirji said the reason is because mRNA is very unstable and does not last. If the vaccines are stored in a normal fridge or at room temperature, it would break down because the mRNA wouldn’t survive.

And the same thing happens in the body.

“MRNA is actually a normal component of our body. It’s kind of a blueprint that our body uses to develop proteins and this is just introducing a blueprint for another kind of protein,” explained Hirji.

MRNA goes in the body, the body begins to develop the proteins, and mRNA is then broken down and destroyed.

What’s left behind are the proteins, briefly, which trigger and train the immune system to fight off the proteins from the COVID virus if it ever sees it again.

MacNeil said the mRNA vaccines are so “elegant in design, leveraging our own normal biology to mimic a 3D protein structure that would arise in our cells during a real infection” that they will likely become the preferred technology for most vaccines moving forward.

And the idea that mRNA vaccines can alter anyone’s DNA is “simply false and does not occur” he said because RNA is a structurally different type of molecule compared to DNA.

WHY VACCINATE CHILDREN IF COVID ISN’T AS BIG A RISK TO THEM?

Hirji said while it is true that children, in general, don’t get as severe a reaction to the virus as older adults, that is not always the case.

In Canada, in children aged zero to 19, there have been 1,735 children hospitalized, 230 in the intensive care unit and 17 deaths as of Oct. 29.

“Severe outcomes absolutely do occur from time to time for children, and if we can prevent those with the safe and easy cheap vaccine, I think we absolutely do want to do that,” Hirji said.

Children also play a role in spreading COVID-19, potentially putting at risk elderly or immuno-compromised family members who may get severe complications.

The vaccine is a way to protect everybody, said Hirji.

“While we focus a lot on severe outcomes … we’re seeing it 10 per cent, or maybe even 30 per cent of people actually get long-COVID where they have those long-term, persistent symptoms of illness that never really go away,” said Hirji.

“We don’t want to have any of our children having to suffer through that to their early formative years.”

WHAT ABOUT UNKNOWN LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF VACCINE?

Hirji said he would argue that the long-term effects of COVID-19 are “much more worrying” than any potential long-term effects of the vaccine. And part of that is because medical professionals are already detecting instances of long-COVID, and while they may not fully understand it quite yet, “we’re absolutely seeing it” said Hirji.

And with vaccines in general, Hirji said there is no evidence of it causing long-term harm.

“Vaccines trigger an immune response in your body, they train the immune system but the vaccine basically gets broken down and spit out by your body very quickly,” he said.

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“There’s never really been long-term effects from vaccines except that you keep immunity long-term.”

MacNeil reiterated that we are only in the infancy stages of understanding the long-term impacts of the virus on children. Approximately seven to eight per cent of infected children suffer from symptoms of the virus months after exposure.

The long-term impact is not worth risking when a “safe and effective vaccine is at our fingertips.”

“I will be having my two young children vaccinated to protect them, and to add the total level of protection in our community and limit outbreaks. That should speak for itself, in terms of the level of confidence I have in the science,” MacNeil said.

ISN’T THE VACCINE UNNECESSARY IF A CHILD ALREADY HAD COVID?

MacNeil said the immunity generated in a natural COVID-10 infection is inferior to the immunity generated by receiving a mRNA vaccine. It is the best option to receive the highest quality immune response and protect a child.

“We all want the best for our children in every scenario they encounter,” he said. “Don’t cut corners on their health in the face of the novel coronavirus. Give your child the best defence available and minimize any risk to their short and long-term health.”

CAN A CHILD GET THE COVID VACCINE AT THE SAME TIME AS OTHER VACCINES?

Yes they can, said MacNeil

The immune system regularly handles exposure to multiple viruses and germs simultaneously, and it can do the same with vaccines. Children are even better positioned than adults to handle multiple immune challenges at a time, because they have to do it more often.

“The part of our immune system that is most critical in vaccination outcomes — adaptive immunity — needs exposures to learn and refine itself,” said MacNeil.

“(It) does most of its learning on the fly in childhood, seeing new pathogens for the first time ever, and formulating a strategy to create an immune memory and generate long-term high quality protection.”

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What parents need to know about COVID-19 vaccine for children five to 11 - StCatharinesStandard.ca
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