THL recommends COVID-19 vaccines for at-risk children aged 5 to 11 years, more information on safety is required for the entire age group
This press release was updated on 8 December 2021 at 16:15.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) recommends starting coronavirus vaccinations for children who are 5 to 11 years of age and belong to a risk group as soon as vaccines are available.
Vaccinations are also recommended for children who are in contact with severely immunodeficient persons. Vaccinations of children who do not belong to risk groups cannot, however, begin before the Government Decree on voluntary COVID-19 vaccinations has been amended.
THL does not yet propose vaccinations for other children aged 5 to 11 years. All children in this age group will be offered the possibility of getting a coronavirus vaccine when more information on the safety of vaccinations for the age group and especially on rare adverse effects has been accumulated.
THL examines the increasing research data during December and prepares to begin vaccinations after the turn of the year in case sufficient evidence on safety has been accumulated.
“The main reason why THL does not recommend vaccinations at this point for all children aged 5 to 11 years is that their burden of disease is small. Infections in children of this age are usually mild and the severe disease is extremely rare compared to other vaccine-preventable diseases. When the burden of disease is small in a group, very few adverse effects are accepted. If society aims to control the epidemic by vaccinating children who themselves benefit only a little from the vaccinations, having information on safety is even more important,” says Hanna Nohynek, Chief Physician at THL.
THL will draft separate instructions regarding both children belonging to risk groups and severely immunodeficient persons.
The vaccinations of children at risk could begin as soon as Finland acquires vaccines intended for children. The current estimate is that the vaccines may arrive by mid-December.
“Children aged 5 to 11 years are administered a coronavirus vaccine, BioNTech-Pfizer's Comirnaty, that is specifically intended for this age group. Children’s vaccinations must be implemented in a manner that does not delay the vaccinations of the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly,” says Mia Kontio, Chief Specialist at THL.
THL’s recommendation is based on the report of a subcommittee of the National Advisory Committee on Vaccines (KRAR) and the statement drafted by KRAR in its meeting on 1 December 2021.
THL will make a proposal on vaccinations for children to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, and the final decision will be made by the government.
“All children’s vaccinations are voluntary, including coronavirus vaccines. Vaccinated and unvaccinated children should be treated equally in society. To make their decision on the vaccination, the child and their guardians must be given comprehensive information on the coronavirus disease and vaccine and the possible adverse effects of the vaccine,” Nohynek continues.
Children's vaccinations do not significantly slow down the course of the epidemic in the current situation
Approximately 5% of children aged 5 to 11 years in Finland had been diagnosed with a confirmed coronavirus infection by the end of November 2021. Of them, 0.2% or 33 children have been treated in a hospital. The treatment periods have been short, usually 1–2 days.
If children aged 5 to 11 years are not vaccinated, it can be roughly estimated that 20–40% of the entire age group will be infected with the coronavirus by the end of March 2022, depending significantly on the intensity of the epidemic and the strictness of restrictive measures. This means that the burden of disease could be 2-4 times higher than currently, which would mean that between 30 and 100 of children aged 5 to 11 years would be hospitalised.
“In some situations, vaccination of children may affect the course of the epidemic at least temporarily. Such a situation may occur if the effective basic reproduction number is already very close to one. In that case, the vaccination of children reduces infections for some time, but it does not affect the potential burden of serious cases of unvaccinated adults, except by postponing illnesses,” Nohynek says.
The estimates are based on the report of KRAR's subcommittee for children’s vaccinations.
The most common adverse effects are the same in small children as in those over 12 years of age
The United States and Israel are the first countries that administer a coronavirus vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years. In the European Union, Austria has begun vaccinating the age group. In addition, at least the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Denmark have decided to begin vaccinations.
According to information from other countries, the most common adverse effects in children have been similar with those observed in vaccinated persons over 12 years of age. A majority of the adverse effects are mild and transient, such as redness and swelling of the injection site, fever, headache, tiredness, muscle pain and chills.
“Even though coronavirus vaccines have been observed to mainly cause very mild adverse effects in children aged 5 to 11 years, the number of studied cases is still small regarding the detection of possible rare adverse effects. Data on the safety of vaccinations for children increases all the time. Before we have sufficient data, we do not recommend administering coronavirus vaccines to all children aged 5 to 11 years,” says Nohynek.
THL closely monitors the accumulating data on the efficacy and safety of vaccines in the age group of 5 to 11 years.
A smaller dose of the Comirnaty vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended on 25 November 2021 extending the use of the Comirnaty vaccine to children aged 5 to 11 years. The European Commission granted a marketing authorisation for the children’s Comirnaty product on 25 November 2021.
The vaccine dose for children aged 5 to 11 years is smaller than the dose given to those over 12 years of age. In Finland, the interval between the first and second dose of the mRNA vaccines is 6 to 12 weeks, and children are vaccinated at the same interval as adults.
Coronavirus vaccinations are planned and carried out by municipalities. Each municipality determines how the vaccinations of children belonging to risk groups are organised.
Further information
Hanna Nohynek
Chief Phycisian
THL
[email protected]
Mia Kontio
Leading expert
THL
[email protected]
Emmi Sarvikivi
Chief Phycisian
THL
[email protected]
