[HTML][HTML] The COVID-19 pandemic in children and young people during 2020-2021: A complex discussion on vaccination

I Rudan, D Adeloye, V Katikireddi, J Murray… - Journal of global …, 2021 - ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
I Rudan, D Adeloye, V Katikireddi, J Murray, C Simpson, SA Shah, C Robertson, A Sheikh…
Journal of global health, 2021ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The key points of the initial discussion in the literature have focused on the issue of
equipoise in childrenbalancing risk and benefits for an individual child, which included
social, as well as medical outcomes, vs the broader benefits and harms to society. An
additional layer of concern was expressed towards considering risks and benefits among
particularly vulnerable children. Then, the practicalities of licensing and the discussion of
mandated vaccination emerged as the third major theme [3-17]. It emerged from previous …
The key points of the initial discussion in the literature have focused on the issue of equipoise in childrenbalancing risk and benefits for an individual child, which included social, as well as medical outcomes, vs the broader benefits and harms to society. An additional layer of concern was expressed towards considering risks and benefits among particularly vulnerable children. Then, the practicalities of licensing and the discussion of mandated vaccination emerged as the third major theme [3-17]. It emerged from previous literature that, to enrol children in any clinical trials, knowledge gaps on COVID-19 would need to be addressed. Then, the effects of immune maturation should be well understood from birth to the age of 18 years [7].
The discrepancy in the views arose because many questions about children were initially unanswered, such as their role in the transmission, the effectiveness of the vaccine in reducing transmission, and the expected benefits to any vaccinated child. When deciding on approving and mandating a novel vaccine for a disease that is not a major threat to children, the decision becomes quite difficult, especially when relevant underlying scientific evidence on disease severity, vaccine safety and vaccine effectiveness is still to be gathered and confirmed without reasonable doubt. Alternatives and the levels of coercion associated with each should also be carefully considered. When planning vaccination programmes, difficult issues of balancing between selfinterest and duty to others also come into consideration. Requirements outlined for mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 in children, from an ethical perspective, should include information on whether the disease is a sufficient threat, positive comparative expected usefulness of vaccination, and proportionate coercion [6]. The case for the mandatory vaccine in children may also be considered for influenza vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic [6].
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov