Is the COVID-19 vaccination safe for children aged six months and above? What are the possible side effects?
Vaccine studies conducted overseas have found vaccination to be safe and effective in preventing COVID-19 infection in children.
Vaccination for children aged six months and older with the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine is safe. COVID-19 vaccines have gone through meticulous research, review, and approvals to ensure its safety in young children six months and older.
Common side effects (such as injection site pain, fatigue, headache) were observed less commonly than in adults and subside within two to three days.
Serious adverse reactions are rare, with no cases of anaphylaxis or pericarditis/myocarditis observed in the Moderna clinical trial where over 6,000 children aged six months to four years were recruited. The common side effects reported from the trial were pain and swelling at the injection site, lethargy, loss of appetite, fever and muscle ache. These symptoms are reasons associated with vaccinations in general, which are expected as part of the body’s natural response to build immunity against COVID-19.
To date, more than one million doses had been administered to children aged six months to five years in the US with no serious side effects had been observed.
Also, in line with the Health Ministry’s guidance for adolescents and young persons, we advise children to avoid strenuous activities for two weeks, post-vaccination.
How does vaccination protect children aged six months and above?
With the more transmissible Omicron variants, our children will be vulnerable to COVID-19 infections. As it is generally harder to get children to comply with mask-wearing and safe management measures, while at the same time they can be sources of COVID-19 viral transmission in our community with the elderly, very young children and persons with weakened immune systems.
Getting the COVID-19 vaccination can help protect children aged six months and older from getting COVID-19. It can also help:
- keep children from getting seriously sick even if they do get COVID-19
- protect vulnerable family members who are not eligible for vaccination (e.g. immunocompromised ones) and those who may be at increased risk of getting very sick if they are infected (e.g. elderly grandparents)
If the majority of the children are vaccinated, there will be improved protection against outbreaks in households, schools and various social settings.
Is the COVID-19 vaccination safe for my child in the long haul? Will it affect his/her development and growth?
Experts believe that the vaccines are unlikely to have any long-term health impact. There is no evidence to date that shows that COVID-19 vaccines can impact a child’s long-term development, including causing DNA modification or creating fertility problems later on in life.
In contrast, if a child who is unvaccinated is infected with COVID-19, he or she is at a higher risk of developing myocarditis, which causes inflammation of the heart muscle, than a vaccinated child.
An unvaccinated child could also experience long-term impact on his or her health if the COVID-19 infection is severe or if MIS-C develops. MIS-C is a condition where the child’s immune system overreacts after a COVID-19 infection (typically two to eight weeks later). This is a rare syndrome but the child may require urgent care due to the involvement of various vital organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, and eyes. Patients with MIS-C can often become very sick, requiring intensive care support and may have experience long-term cardiac complications.
So by comparison, the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks associated with contracting COVID-19.
Can children with underlying medical conditions take the vaccine?
Majority of the children aged six months and above will be able to receive the vaccines with the exception of the following groups of children:
- Children with known allergy to one of the vaccine’s components should not receive the vaccine.
- Children with an allergic reaction to a previous dose of mRNA vaccine should not take the same vaccine again.
Majority of the children are eligible to receive the vaccine, even those with chronic disease such as asthma, epilepsy, eczema or food/drug/dust allergies. For children with a weakened immune system, it is important for the child to be vaccinated as weakened immunity is a risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection. Children with low immunity can still receive the vaccine because it is not a live vaccine, and patients cannot get COVID-19 infection from the vaccine. If your child has cancer and is on active chemotherapy, you should consult your child’s cancer specialist to discuss the optimal time for your child to be vaccinated.
If you are unsure of your child’s eligibility for vaccination, you are encouraged to speak with your child’s doctor/paediatrician.
What other considerations are there?
Getting vaccinated helps to protect the child from getting infected and passing the disease to others. Being vaccinated gives parents and children peace of mind to return to activities like in-person infant care or child care and participating in activities.
Children who are unvaccinated, in particular children with underlying medical conditions, can become seriously ill from COVID-19 and suffer long-term health problems. Children who develop MIS-C – a multi-organ systemic inflammatory disorder related to COVID-19 infection –often become very sick, requiring intensive care support and may have long-term cardiac complications.
Hence, the known and potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks of vaccination.
