More than 1000 children infected: Govt. urged to vaccinate the young

Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRH) Consultant Paediatrician Dr. Deepal Perera said yesterday that there were over 1,000 children infected with COVID-19 and urged the government to consider vaccinating those above the age of 12.

Dr. Perera noted that during the first two waves of Covid-19 only a limited number of children were infected. However, now the number of infections among children were very high.

“If people want to protect their children, it’s not enough to keep them at home. We mustn’t take the virus home. Five children have already died due to the virus.”Taking preventive measure was much better than vaccinating children, the doctor said.

“In cities like Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), they have started vaccinating children. Sinopharm vaccine can be given to those above 16 years and the Pfizer Moderna vaccine those above 12 years. But no side effects have been reported as per the reports issued by them,” Dr. Perera added.

Last week US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorised the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for use in children ages 12 to 15, but it could be months before a vaccine was approved for use in children younger than 12. Children under 12 are rarely hospitalised with or die of covid-19, and there’s evidence they don’t spread the virus as easily as adults, CDC said.