Children under 12 travel with a vaccinated mother, children aged just under five and another seven. Went to the same places with equal possibility of contracting the virus, the mother enters with a certificate, the under five enters with his mother, the seven-year-old has to endure a swab test and enters with a negative swab test result. Does the virus choose age? – Caroline Bianco
A recently published guidance document by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) says “children of all ages are susceptible to and can transmit SARS-CoV-2. Cases of SARS-CoV-2 in younger children appear to lead to onward transmission less frequently than cases in older children and adults”.
Based on this evidence, many countries, including Malta, have made a distinction between testing of children considering that a vaccine for under 12 years of age is not yet authorised. While one can discuss at length what the age limit should be, children above the age of five are usually part of the schooling system (which is likely to include summer schools too) and also attend several extracurricular activities, thus likely to interact with more children (and, therefore, other bubbles) than younger counterparts who are likely to interact only with their own household members or, at most, a childcare centre. Also, swabbing a younger child presents bigger challenges.
The ECDC report further delves into the current situation with the Delta variant and the challenge on increased transmission. “Increased transmissibility across all age groups has been reported for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs), most notably for the Delta variant. In regions where an increasing percentage of adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but where children are not vaccinated, it may be anticipated that, in the coming months, increasingly greater proportions of reported SARS-CoV-2 cases will be among children.”
Hence, while further rolling out vaccinations to all eligible groups including adolescents aged over 12, all precautions need to be taken through mitigation measures which have proved to work including the use of masks, handwashing and physical distancing.
When can the public (not elderly or immunocompromised) expect the booster dose? – Anna Grech
To guarantee longer-term protection, some EU member states, including Malta, are considering booster doses for populations at a higher risk, given the reports and concerns emerging on decline in protection against infection and waning immunity in certain cases. Germany has already started giving a booster dose to the most vulnerable. Out of the EU, Israel, the UK and the US have announced a booster dose programme for the elderly.
The European Medicines Agency is currently reviewing emerging data to make recommendations that can support member states within the context of national vaccination campaigns. In addition, further data from companies that manufacture the vaccines is expected in the coming weeks and EMA will be reviewing the product information on that basis.
In case booster doses may become needed for the public of a younger age, apart from the elderly, EMA and ECDC are already collaborating with one another and the national immunisation technical advisory groups, who are national experts advising on vaccination programmes coordinated by ECDC. Real world effectiveness data from Europe and other parts of the world are of particular interest to supplement data from clinical trials on booster doses.
Have the symptoms with the new variant changed? – Neville Caruana
The scientific community conducts ongoing surveillance to identify prevailing symptoms to guide the public on symptoms to encourage early detection of cases of COVID-19.
Scientists at King’s College London have embarked on a study through app to study symptoms in the general population. This study has suggested that the symptoms associated with COVID-19 may be changing due to the rise of the Delta variant. Since the start of May, the number-one symptom reported by app users with a confirmed infection has been headache, followed by sore throat, a runny nose, fever and loss of smell.
Local data gathered from COVID-19 confirmed cases, showed that, since July, where the Delta variant predominated the cases, the commonest symptoms reported were cough, fever, sore throat and headache. Such symptoms are very similar to a bad common cold and, hence, people need to be aware that such symptoms could be COVID-19 and are encouraged to test. Testing can be booked online at https://covidtest.gov.mt/ or by calling the COVID-19 helpline 111.
Why were immunocompromised persons prioritised for an additional vaccine dose? – Mary Mizzi
The scientific community is making an important distinction between booster doses for people who responded adequately to the first full vaccination course and additional doses for those with weakened immune systems who did not respond adequately. Booster doses are given to vaccinated people who took a full course to restore protection after protection would have waned.
The health authorities have already assessed the situation and will be rolling out vaccination to elderly living in old people’s homes. On the other hand, an additional dose as part of a primary vaccination series may be given to people with severely weakened immune systems (immunocompromised) as they may not achieve an adequate level of protection from the standard primary vaccination. This is based on evidence from Israel and the US, which shows that the vaccine effectiveness following full vaccination in certain groups of immunocompromised individuals was reduced when compared to non-immunocompromised individuals.
Have any questions to ask the superintendent? Send an e-mail to askcharmaine@timesofmalta.com.