Impasses and Nuances of Vaccination for COVID-19 in Children Aged 5-11 Years

Abstract

Background: In relation to COVID-19, pediatric patients are usually asymptomatic or with mild manifestations of lesser severity. On the other hand, the literature demonstrates the reduced existence of cases that progressed to serious complications. Therefore, the release of a vaccine for this age group is extremely important for children's health and for reducing the spread of the virus. Furthermore, the immunization of children against SARS-CoV-2 was implemented in some countries and, as a result, the panorama regarding this subject has changed completely, being saturated with opinions and divergences related to the topic. In view of this, the present article aims to clarify the nuances of SARS-Cov-2 immunization in children between the ages of 5-11 years old.
 Methodology: For this study, we have conducted a review on the literature regarding vaccination against COVID-19 on the 5-11 years pediatric age group, using the MeSh terms "COVID-19", "vaccination", "children", and "pandemic", in the following databases: "Google Scholar", "PubMed" and "BVS".
 Results: Overall, the research has shown that the most common side effects in the pediatric age group, when present, were local pain (48,7%), headache (20,4%), fatigue (27,7%), myalgia (11,4%), and local erythema (11,4%), whilst severe symptoms, such as myocarditis, occurred with a low incidence (0,16%).
 Conclusion: Due to the absence or, if present, mild /local side effects on children, the recommendations of the main health agencies are in favor of the immunization of this age group, although, further work on the social opinion is needed in order to increase public acceptance concerning the importance and safety of vaccination against COVID-19 in children between the ages of 5-11.