Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jan;32(1):9-16.
doi: 10.1111/pai.13401. Epub 2020 Nov 20.

Is there a role for childhood vaccination against COVID-19?

Christiane Sigrid Eberhardt  1   2   3 , Claire-Anne Siegrist  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Is there a role for childhood vaccination against COVID-19?

Christiane Sigrid Eberhardt et al. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Tremendous efforts are undertaken to quickly develop COVID-19 vaccines that protect vulnerable individuals from severe disease and thereby limit the health and socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic. Potential candidates are tested in adult populations, and questions arise of whether COVID-19 vaccination should be implemented in children. Compared to adults, the incidence and disease severity of COVID-19 are low in children, and despite their infectiveness, their role in disease propagation is limited. Therefore, COVID-19 vaccines will need to have fully demonstrated safety and efficacy in preventing not only complications but transmission to justify childhood vaccination. This work summarizes currently tested vaccine platforms and debates practical and ethical considerations for their potential use in children. It also discusses the already deleterious effect of the pandemic on routine childhood vaccine coverage, calling for action to limit the risks for a rise in vaccine-preventable diseases.

Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; childhood vaccination; efficacy; safety; transmission of disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Petrilli CM, Jones SA, Yang J, et al. Factors associated with hospital admission and critical illness among 5279 people with coronavirus disease 2019 in New York City: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2020;369:m1966.
    1. Richardson S, Hirsch JS, Narasimhan M, et al. Presenting characteristics, comorbidities, and outcomes among 5700 patients hospitalized With COVID-19 in the New York City area. JAMA. 2020;323:2052-2059.
    1. Zheng Z, Peng F, Xu B, et al. Risk factors of critical & mortal COVID-19 cases: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis. J Infect. 2020;81:e16-e25.
    1. Castagnoli R, Votto M, Licari A, et al. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in children and adolescents: a systematic review. JAMA Pediatr. 2020;174:882.
    1. Götzinger F, Santiago-García B, Noguera-Julián A, et al. COVID-19 in children and adolescents in Europe: a multinational, multicentre cohort study. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020;4(9):653-661.

LinkOut - more resources