Study finds how COVID-19 vaccines can prevent serious cases in children

According to a review, COVID-19 vaccinations protect children and teenagers from developing severe cases of the illness. Because the majority of children have already contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus and have built up natural immunity, the additional benefit of vaccination in healthy children is minimal. In BMJ Paediatrics Open, a review of the international literature that focused on the problems with COVID-19 vaccination, particularly in low- and middle-income countries with high rates of community transmission and infection-derived immunity, was led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

The review reported any roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in low- and middle-income countries should also complement routine childhood vaccine programs including for measles, pneumonia and diarrhoeal disease that have a greater impact on illness and death,
The research found that two-thirds of children with COVID-19 who attended hospital in the first two years of the pandemic did not require medical intervention. The review reported that despite most children having been infected and severe infection could occur, deaths were extremely rare in children. Globally, 16,100 COVID-19 deaths have been reported in those up to 19 years old.

With a rise in infection-derived COVID-19 immunity over time, the illness has also changed. Previous studies conducted by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute have shown that croup, which is caused by COVID-19, decreased in 2022 despite the emergence of new variants. The rates of paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome (PIMS-TS), a major concern in the early stages of the pandemic, were also significantly lower during the Omicron COVID-19 variant period, according to data from the Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) network and the US.