Highlights
- Side effects of the vaccine in children were all mild to moderate: Study
- All recorded side effects cleared up within a week: Study
- The study aims to offer reassurance to parents and clinicians
London: A new study has revealed that the side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab against COVID-19 in 12-15-year-olds at high risk of complications from the infection are likely to be mild to moderate and clear up quickly because of certain coexisting conditions. The findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Archives of Disease in Childhood’.
Also Read: What Are COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections? How Long Does Immunity Last After COVID-19 Vaccination? An Expert Explains
Although the study numbers are small, the data are representative of those teens most likely to benefit from the vaccination, and should offer reassurance to parents and clinicians, said the authors. Healthy children with COVID-19 infection generally have a mild illness, but some coexisting conditions, particularly neurological conditions, are associated with severe disease.
These high-risk children were therefore shielded to reduce their risk of infection, and wouldn’t have been included in early vaccine safety studies, said the authors. The UK’s vaccine advisory group, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), advised that children aged 12 and over with severe neurological disabilities, who tend to get recurrent respiratory infections and have complex care needs, should be offered the COVID-19 jab.
Given the unknown side effects of vaccination in this complex and vulnerable group, the authors asked the parents of 27 of these children to record any side effects of subsequent COVID-19 vaccinations for each child.
The children were aged between 12 and 15; three were hospital inpatients; 16 were boys and most (21) were white. They had various neurological conditions, including muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy, plus a range of coexisting medical conditions, such as epilepsy, congenital heart defects, and immune deficiency, for which they were receiving drug treatment of various kinds.
The reported side effects were all mild to moderate, except for one child who experienced severe fatigue and discomfort, combined with increased agitation. One family also reported that seizure type changed to clusters, although this had resolved a week later.
In all, there were 8 ‘events’ in 6 children after the first dose, all of which resolved within 72 hours: mild rash; headache; diarrhoea; presumed sore throat; neck pain; difficulty sleeping; and low blood glucose. After the second dose, 8 additional events occurred in 5 children: diarrhoea; vomiting; armpit swelling; and blisters around the mouth. Paracetamol use after the first dose was high and fever was more common than reported in studies of adults (13 per cent vs 4 per cent in 16-55-year-olds). But all recorded side effects cleared up within a week.
Numbers were small, but these data are especially important as they are representative of the children who are most likely to benefit from vaccination, and parents and clinicians may have concerns regarding an increased risk of unexpected events. The parents choosing to take up this vaccination at a time when it was off-licence, with little available safety data, did so because they (and their clinicians) believed their children to be at high risk of COVID-19 disease. Indeed, many had been shielding and felt that vaccination would make a significant difference to their lives, noted the authors.
Also Read: Half Of Hospitalised Covid Patients Have Persisting Symptoms After A Year: Lancet Study
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.
World
21,46,18,796Cases
17,83,22,948Active
3,18,21,428Recovered
44,74,420Deaths
Coronavirus has spread to 195 countries. The total confirmed cases worldwide are 21,46,18,796 and 44,74,420 have died; 17,83,22,948 are active cases and 3,18,21,428 have recovered as on August 27, 2021 at 4:00 am.
India
3,26,03,188 44,658Cases
3,44,899 11,174Active
3,18,21,428 32,988Recovered
4,36,861 496Deaths
In India, there are 3,26,03,188 confirmed cases including 4,36,861 deaths. The number of active cases is 3,44,899 and 3,18,21,428 have recovered as on August 27, 2021 at 2:30 am.
State Details
State | Cases | Active | Recovered | Deaths |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maharashtra |
64,42,788 5,108 |
53,908 213 |
62,52,150 4,736 |
1,36,730 159 |
Kerala |
39,13,506 30,077 |
1,81,747 10,918 |
37,11,625 18,997 |
20,134 162 |
Karnataka |
29,43,463 1,213 |
19,326 18 |
28,86,906 1,206 |
37,231 25 |
Tamil Nadu |
26,07,206 1,559 |
18,069 283 |
25,54,323 1,816 |
34,814 26 |
Andhra Pradesh |
20,07,730 1,539 |
14,448 387 |
19,79,504 1,140 |
13,778 12 |
Uttar Pradesh |
17,09,192 19 |
342 3 |
16,86,056 22 |
22,794 |
West Bengal |
15,45,534 717 |
9,167 18 |
15,17,965 726 |
18,402 9 |
Delhi |
14,37,595 45 |
413 24 |
14,12,102 21 |
25,080 |
Chhattisgarh |
10,04,329 47 |
595 32 |
9,90,179 79 |
13,555 |
Odisha |
10,04,059 849 |
7,577 19 |
9,88,854 764 |
7,628 66 |
Rajasthan |
9,54,051 3 |
107 14 |
9,44,990 17 |
8,954 |
Gujarat |
8,25,363 16 |
157 2 |
8,15,126 18 |
10,080 |
Madhya Pradesh |
7,92,120 6 |
76 3 |
7,81,528 9 |
10,516 |
Haryana |
7,70,411 16 |
660 0 |
7,60,080 15 |
9,671 1 |
Bihar |
7,25,651 15 |
107 2 |
7,15,894 13 |
9,650 |
Telangana |
6,56,455 357 |
6,246 49 |
6,46,344 405 |
3,865 1 |
Punjab |
6,00,420 42 |
407 6 |
5,83,651 32 |
16,362 4 |
Assam |
5,86,940 562 |
7,781 225 |
5,73,541 776 |
5,618 11 |
Jharkhand |
3,47,794 31 |
139 1 |
3,42,523 32 |
5,132 |
Uttarakhand |
3,42,843 25 |
324 4 |
3,35,142 21 |
7,377 |
Jammu And Kashmir |
3,24,647 101 |
1,060 18 |
3,19,183 119 |
4,404 |
Himachal Pradesh |
2,12,727 269 |
2,077 19 |
2,07,068 247 |
3,582 3 |
Goa |
1,73,526 92 |
950 17 |
1,69,385 71 |
3,191 4 |
Puducherry |
1,23,151 73 |
767 7 |
1,20,575 66 |
1,809 |
Manipur |
1,12,355 380 |
3,596 24 |
1,06,992 352 |
1,767 4 |
Tripura |
82,600 102 |
1,150 14 |
80,655 114 |
795 2 |
Meghalaya |
74,817 231 |
2,682 133 |
70,841 362 |
1,294 2 |
Chandigarh |
65,077 6 |
39 3 |
64,226 3 |
812 |
Mizoram |
55,756 905 |
7,470 388 |
48,080 513 |
206 4 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
52,634 109 |
1,150 12 |
51,224 120 |
260 1 |
Nagaland |
29,778 60 |
845 26 |
28,321 86 |
612 |
Sikkim |
29,597 73 |
1,409 6 |
27,821 79 |
367 |
Ladakh |
20,522 7 |
66 2 |
20,249 5 |
207 |
Dadra And Nagar Haveli |
10,663 3 |
6 2 |
10,653 1 |
4 |
Lakshadweep |
10,328 1 |
32 1 |
10,245 2 |
51 |
Andaman And Nicobar Islands |
7,560 |
4 3 |
7,427 3 |
129 |