Let’s talk | Children, COVID-19 and should they take the vaccine
Published:Wednesday | September 1, 2021 | 12:09 AMRhea Robinson/Gleaner Writer
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has recently been made available to children in Jamaica age 12 and over. With the rapid increase in the number of positive coronavirus cases in Jamaica, and the hope of going back to face-to-face school, the vaccine for children has been welcomed by many — but not all. There are still several questions being asked about COVID-19, the vaccines, and how it affects children. Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher, president of the Paediatric Association of Jamaica, was happy to answer several questions and shed some much-needed light on the issue.
Gleaner: What are the first signs of COVID-19 in children?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: So, the truth is that there is nothing that we can say, “OK, this is going to be the first sign”. Just like in adults, the symptoms in children may be non-specific — fever, headache, they can have eye pain, older kids may report loss of taste and smell, as well as they can have diarrhoea and vomiting, so it’s really very non-specific.
Gleaner: It is said that the virus mostly affects older people, but how badly can it affect children?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: The spectrum is wide, so you can have children who are infected who are asymptomatic, so they don’t have any symptoms. You do an incidental swab for something else, like they may have surgery or something, and the swab comes back positive. Or you may have children who present with respiratory symptoms, like a mild cough, runny nose, red eyes, or children who present with fever, as well as a child who is severe so they may have difficulty breathing.
They may have respiratory distress, and there have been a number of children who have died. Most of those children [had] underlying issues.
Gleaner: Do you really think children should be getting the vaccine?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: Yes, I do think children should get the vaccine. So even though the children are not as severely affected as adults, you don’t know what will happen to the child, and given what has happened with our children, I think this is one move that will help us to get our children back into school and try to have some normalcy to their lives. So, based on that, I do think we need to try to vaccinate our children and offer them some protection so that they can go [back to school].
Gleaner: What steps should be taken before and after taking the vaccine?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: The truth is that there are none in terms of preparation for the vaccines, you know. They just go to the vaccination site. So the immediate effects of the vaccine — they can have pain and tenderness at the sight, headaches, just a feeling of being unwell. And so, in preparation for the vaccine, we ask that parents give Panadol, immediately after the vaccine, or Cetamol, every six to eight hours; and we usually recommend that for 24 to 48 hours.
Gleaner: Are there any special steps that children with underlying issues should take?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: For children with underlying diseases, the truth is, you should have a discussion with your physician about taking the vaccine; but again, we’re recommending that children with underlying diseases take the vaccination, because they are the most likely to be most affected by severe diseases. So have a discussion with the child’s doctor and hear the recommendations from the doctor. The only children where they have wondered about the efficacy of the vaccine, are children who may have collagen vascular disease, like rheumatoid arthritis. There were some concerns about those children and the efficacy of the vaccine in those children.
Gleaner: What are some expected side effects for children after the vaccine?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: The immediate effects [are] pain, redness, tenderness at the vaccine site; in 24-48 hours, you may have a headache, fever, but usually, within 48 hours, you recover totally. You may notice there have been reports of a rare side effect, after the second dose of the vaccine, where some children may get an inflammation of the heart, and this is characterised by a racing of the heart. This is usually mild and treatable, so the truth is that you could also get this from having had COVID. If it is that you were to get this condition from COVID, it would have been more of a severe disease than just a side effect from the vaccination.
Gleaner: If the child has had the virus before, should they still get the vaccine?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: After having the virus your body’s natural immunity [does kick in], you do produce some antibodies. We’re not sure how long these antibodies’ response lasts, and it shows that it’s not long-lasting. So even if you had COVID, the recommendations are that you really should wait six to eight weeks, but you should still go ahead and get vaccinated.
Gleaner: What advice would you give to parents and children who are still indecisive about taking the vaccine?
Dr Natalie McNeil-Beecher: I would say to you, try to get your information from a reputable source. If you have access to a health professional, sit and speak to them and let them know what your reservations are, and let them advise you in terms of the benefits of taking the vaccine, ‘cause the benefits far outweigh any risks at all.