Pharmaceutical Sciences Asia (Jan 2022)

Current data on Covid-19 vaccine in pediatrics

  • Lalitphat Treerattanapun,
  • Preecha Montakantikul

DOI
https://doi.org/10.29090/psa.2022.01.21.161
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 49, no. 1
pp. 15 – 21

Abstract

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To date, COVID-19 has infected more than 200 million people worldwide, with 4 million having died because of it. The infection rate among pediatrics was 14.2% of the total COVID-19 cases. One of the effective tools for stopping this pandemic is the provision of SARS-CoV-2 immunity via vaccination. Many platforms have been developed in efforts to make the best SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Most clinical studies confirmed their safety and efficacy in adults. However, we cannot guarantee that the immunogenicity and safety results of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 in adults are the same for children. There are only 3 studies on the use of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in children. Two mRNA-based vaccines have been approved for emergency use in children aged 12 years or older. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, an mRNA-based vaccine, was the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in people aged 16 and older. In addition, 2 inactivated vaccines have been approved for use on children as young as 3 years of age. To date, 4 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have been approved for use in children. However, data on the efficacy and safety of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in children under 12 years of age are scarce. Studies on the long-term safety of the use of these vaccines in children is urgently needed.

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