Paediatric association supports COVID-19 vaccination for children

Children should receive the COVID-19 vaccine because serious complications from the virus can occur in healthy kids even though these are uncommon, the paediatric lobby group said. 

The Maltese Paediatric Association said in a statement it supports the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11. 

"Children respond well to the currently approved COVID-19 vaccine, which has been shown to be 90% protective. The vaccine has been shown to be safe when used in several million children in the USA," the association said.

The risk of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, from the vaccine is extremely low, the association said, and it can still occur with COVID-19 infection.

The association added that the vaccine would protect children from COVID-19 infection during the current pandemic.

Children between the ages of five and 11 began to receive the COVID-19 on 14 December.

The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for children was approved by the European Medicines Agency last month and is administered in two injections given three weeks apart. Children receive a vaccine that is a third of the dose of that for adults.