Parents consenting to vaccination of their young children against Covid-19 face an inevitable dilemma.
ven allowing for the rise in cases of the Delta variant, the risk of getting very sick if a healthy 12 to 15-year-old catches the virus remains low.
It is obviously less of a quandary for the parents of a child with an underlying illness or who is living in a household where a parent or sibling is medically vulnerable.
There are obvious benefits around vaccination and health officials say they outweigh rare risks. But how can parents weigh the benefits and the risks?
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The head of HSE’s Immunisation Office, Dr Lucy Jessop, yesterday said the side effects to the vaccine in younger people are very rare.
Data from the United States for those aged 12 to 17 years shows the risk of myocarditis – an inflammatory heart condition – is one in 16,000 for boys after the second dose.
It is one in 100,000 in girls after the second dose.
Symptoms include palpitations, breathlessness and chest pains.
Most reported cases worldwide were resolved with rest and some treatment.
Cases tend to occur within 14 days of the vaccine and more commonly after the second dose, she said.
This compares to figures here showing that one in every 100,000 healthy young people under 19 years of age are hospitalised when they get Covid-19.
The chances of hospitalisation are much higher for young people with underlying illnesses. Among young people hospitalised with Covid-19, seven in 10 had long-term health conditions.
She said that children have been affected by the indirect effects of Covid-19 on their education and social interactions.
Even if mildly ill or asymptomatic, children with Covid-19 must self-isolate.
This also affects their families, potentially causing serious upheaval.
“Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing Covid-19 infection and particularly severe infection,” she added.
The United States has been rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine to this group for the longest time so far.
It has provided real-time data on its impact.
One study carried out at Yale University found many post-vaccination patients did not feel very sick but were admitted to hospital so doctors could do precautionary tests. A study on seven cases of myocarditis among teenagers showed they all had chest pain. Some had fevers or felt weak or tired.
Their symptoms started between two and four days after getting the second dose of vaccine and they were in hospital for two to six days.
The doctors reported that among all seven patients the symptoms resolved rapidly after getting medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and steroids.
All of the cases were boys.
The response so far is that the very rare cases are manageable.
There are 280,000 children aged 12 to 15 who are eligible for a vaccine here. As of 4pm yesterday, less than 24 hours after registration for a vaccine opened, some 50,000 had been registered.
Parents are advised to read through the information around vaccination on the HSE website.