This text is taken from our newsletter “Le Courrier du coronavirus” of June 13, 2022. To subscribe, click here.
The United States could start vaccinating toddlers aged 6 months to 4 years as early as next week, provided health authorities approve the formula proposed by pharmaceutical companies. A similar process is underway in Canada, but what about the vaccination of toddlers?
Vaccination has already been authorized in children aged 5 and over, and “we do not expect it to be different in children under 5”, explains to the To have to Dr. Hélène Decaluwe, specialist in pediatric immunology at CHU Sainte-Justine.
In both cases, the disease strikes “in general” less strongly than in adults. But “it’s not completely benign to catch COVID-19 in children,” she says, citing cases of complications or long COVID.
Vaccinating her child is a parental decision, but as a mother and a scientist, Dr. Decaluwe ensures that her young children are vaccinated.
For vulnerable children suffering from obesity, immune deficiency, serious lung or heart disease, this vaccination is “absolutely indicated”, she decides, the risks being too high.
The vaccine is also especially recommended for newborns under the age of one, she says, because these cherubim “still have a higher risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19, such as babies under one. year are much more likely to catch a severe form of flu.
It should be noted that toddlers receive a dozen vaccines during the first 18 months of their life and that, for weaker children, the flu vaccine is included in these basic vaccines.
Health Canada could not confirm to To have to a timetable for the approval of this vaccine for children under 5 on this side of the border.