Health experts recommend giving COVID -19 vaccines to children

AMMAN — Health experts are recommending the administration of COVID-19 vaccines to children in order to reach herd immunity stage. 

“Studies emerged from Pfizer, Moderna and Sinopharm proved that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective for children between the ages five and 15,” Derar Bal’awi, contagious disease consultant and a member of the Epidemiological Committee at the Ministry of Health, told The Jordan Times. 

Currently there are “positive signals” that children aged between two and five can receive the vaccine, Bal’awi added, though there is still a debate on the vaccine dose and whether children should get a booster shot or not. 

“My personal opinion is inclined towards directing the vaccines to adolescents and younger children who suffer from comorbidities [the presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient at the same time],” Bal’awi noted. 

“Children and young adolescents have very rare chances to get severe infection or die from COVID-19,” according to Bal’awi.

“According to research and statistics, COVID-19 vaccine could prevent children from becoming severely ill or experiencing short-term or long-term complications if they catch the virus,” Rasha Naser, a paediatrician, told The Jordan Times.

Naser noted that children with other health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes and asthma, might be at higher risk of serious illness if they catch the COVID-19 virus.

“Getting a COVID-19 vaccine can help keep children in schools and will also enable them to safely socialise with their classmates and participate in school and social activities that are good for their mental and physical health,” she said. 

“The Ministry of Education has not yet received any official recommendations from the Ministry of Health about vaccinating the 5-12 age group, although the emergency use approval included adolescents aged 12 and above,” Najwa Qubailat, secretary general at the Ministry of Education, told The Jordan Times on Sunday.