Since start of pandemic: Covid-19 claims 211 lives of children in Pakistan

KARACHI: Covid-19 has so far affected over 100,000 children in Pakistan, of which 211 children have died due to the complications of viral infection, leading child specialists of the country on Wednesday said and urged parents to get their children vaccinated to save them from the infection and to resume educational activities.

Asking the government to start vaccinating children of 12 years and above against the virion, renowned pediatricians at a news conference vouched for vaccine's safety and counselled the parents to get their children vaccinated at the earliest so that academic process could resume.

“Currently, Pfizer’s messenger RNA vaccine is being used for vaccinating children of 12 years and above in developed countries and we also recommend the government to vaccinate children of the same age. This vaccine is extremely safe for children and has very rare side effects,” President-elect of Pakistan Pediatric Association (PPA) Prof. Jamal Raza told a news conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC).

Accompanied by PPA President Prof. Jalal Akbar, General Secretary Dr. Khalid Shafi and Dr. Waseem Jamalvi, Prof. Jamal Raza said the poorly-designed consent form has confused the parents and called upon the health authorities to design a simpler consent form, so the children could be vaccinated in accordance with their consent. “We also assure parents that the vaccine being used for children is very safe as it is being used in the US and European countries without any adverse effects,” a renowned pediatrician maintained.

Confirming that the Sindh government had not taken them into confidence while announcing vaccinating children upto 15 years and above, Prof. Jamal Raza said they were in favour of starting vaccination from 12 years. Responding to a query, he said ultimately, all the provincial governments would have to vaccinate all the children to achieve herd immunity but underlined that so far, safety and efficacy data of Covid-19 vaccine was available only upto 12 years. Dr Raza also called for a booster dose to healthcare workers, especially those dealing with children as well as immunocompromised segments of the society.

General Secretary PPA Dr. Khalid Shafi said children's education has suffered the most due to Covid-19 as millions of children were unable to attend schools and vaccination was immensely important to send children back to schools.

“So far, over 86,693 children under 18 years of age have contracted Covid-19, of which 177 lost their lives. Around 11,391 children from one to five years of age also contracted Covid-19, of which 34 died. So far, 4,477 infants have also contracted Covid-19 and fortunately, none of them died,” Dr. Khalid Shafi said.

PPA President Dr. Jalal Akbar wanted the government to reduce the age for Covid-19 vaccination to 12 years, saying Pfizer’s vaccine is immensely safe and beneficial for the children of 12 years and above.