Britain and Norway only administered one dose of Covid-19 vaccine to teenagers 7
Norway decided on October 22 not to give the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine to children 12-15 years old, to collect more data.
According to the Norwegian Ministry of Health, fully vaccinating children is not so urgent.
FHI will reassess the situation in early 2022, after gathering more information from studies being carried out in Northern Europe.
Norway’s move is similar to Britain’s.
Jeremy Brown, Professor of Respiratory Infections at University College London, commented that the JCVI can only consider the medical benefits from the vaccine.
`JCVI makes a statement based entirely on medical grounds. In healthy adolescents, Covid-19 rarely causes severe symptoms, meaning that it is not necessary to use a vaccine from a disease prevention perspective.
`The option to receive a single dose of Covid-19 vaccine will be welcomed by more families. It brings great health benefits, while avoiding the high risk of myocarditis after the second dose, mainly for
An American teenager was vaccinated in Minnesota, May 2021.
Hong Kong Special Region (China) also has a similar decision to England and Norway.
Professor Lau Yu-lung, head of the government’s advisory panel on the vaccination program, admitted that post-vaccination side effects are more common than initially estimated.
`The risk of Covid-19 in Hong Kong is low. Thus, one dose is enough to protect children,` Mr. Lau said.
According to official data, as of the end of August, Hong Kong only recorded 41 cases of carditis after Pfizer vaccination, equivalent to a rate of 0.0009%.
Professor Aaron Glatt, spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital, commented: `This strategy should definitely be considered. It creates both theoretical and practical advantages.`
According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), people with myocarditis or pericarditis respond well to medication and recover quickly.
Quoting the CDC report, Dr. Fred Davis, Vice President of Northwell Health System, USA, said the rate of myocarditis was 40.6 per million men 12-29 years old who received the second dose of mRNA vaccine.
`Children 12 years of age and older who receive one dose of vaccine are less protected (only 52%) instead of 88% when vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. But this approach allows countries to vaccinate more children with the same amount.
He also believes that this approach will motivate more parents to have their children vaccinated, making them realize that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks.
Experts say whether to inject one or two doses of vaccine needs to be considered in the specific circumstances of each country.
