Children may be at greater risk of the Delta variant of the coronavirus

So far, vaccines licensed for emergency use around the world provide protection against variants of the coronavirus that are of concern worldwide. But the Delta variant, which was first detected in India last year and has spread to more than 80 countries, could affect children the most. Until now, children have not been a priority in vaccination plans because, in general, they do not develop complications if they are infected with the virus. Clinical trials are still ongoing to assess whether COVID-19 vaccines are effective and safe for them. Health authorities in England, the United States, Australia, Italy and Indonesia are assessing whether the impact of Delta justifies starting vaccination in children.

“What has been observed in the United Kingdom in particular, in the context of the emergence of the Delta variant, is that the juvenile and pediatric population functions as a vector of infection, since they are the ones that are not immune with vaccines. However, It is very important to underline that both children and adolescents do not present serious forms or hospitalizations nor do they have a higher mortality ”, counted up Infobae the infectious disease doctor Leda Guzzi, from the Communication Commission of the Argentine Society of Infectology and the infectious disease doctor from the Olivos clinic and the Santa Rosa hospital of the Vicente López party.

In England, Professor Anthony Harnden, vice-chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, announced a few days ago that it would be decided in a few weeks whether or not to authorize the vaccination of children against the coronavirus: “We are well aware of the issues surrounding both the pros and cons of vaccinating your children, which we will discuss in due course, but in reality what we need to be absolutely sure of is that these vaccines benefit children. children one way or another. … so we analyze this data very carefully. We are clearly going to have to weigh in on this in the coming weeks, ”said Harnden.

On June 15, the Delta variant was reclassified by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It went from “variant of interest” to “variant of concern”. The World Health Organization also classifies Delta as “of concern”.

In the United States, 64% of people over the age of 12 have already been vaccinated with at least one dose. As the most contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus spreads across the country, there is a risk that another peak in covid-19 cases will occur in September, especially in areas where immunization levels are low. Additionally, children under 12 cannot yet receive the covid-19 vaccine.

Regarding the Delta variant, “People not vaccinated against COVID-19, including children, are more vulnerable because they are more transmissible,” said Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst, emergency physician and visiting professor of policy and development. health management at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.

According to Dr. Wen, the impact of the Delta variant depends on where each child lives. “I don’t care about my children or other children not vaccinated against COVID-19 who are surrounded by people who are fully vaccinated. But I’m very worried that unvaccinated people are close to unvaccinated people either, whether they are children or adults, ”he noted. Regarding the population of the United States, the expert said: “Because the delta variant is much more contagious, there is no margin for error. If an infected person is not vaccinated and there are other unvaccinated people around, those unvaccinated people are more likely to contract COVID-19, and that includes children. I would continue to urge unvaccinated people to behave like they are at high risk because the pandemic is not over for unvaccinated people. ” He recommended that meetings with children between different families and friends be done only outdoors to avoid contagion.

In Italy, virologist Giorgio Palù, a member of the technical scientific committee and chairman of the board of the Italian Medicines Agency, also warned that the Delta variant affects children more. “It depends on the fact that although they have fewer receptors for the virus in the cells of the upper respiratory tract, nose and throat, they are more easily infected because the variant has acquired a greater affinity for the receptors for them. -same. “

Palù estimated that, as an urgent measure, it is necessary “to speed up the vaccination campaign in all age groups, from 12 years old, doing everything possible to cover the nearly 2.5 million more of 60 years who are not yet vaccinated, the most exposed ”.

Meanwhile, in Australia, they are also assessing the risk to children. Stuart Turville, professor and virologist at the Kirby Institute, said: What we do know is that the Delta variant appears to be more contagious for everyone. It is difficult to calculate the sensitivity of children to the Delta variant, mainly because they have not been vaccinated ”. He noted that the situation of children in Australia needed to be further monitored.

In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, 112 cases of children of different ages diagnosed with the Delta variant of the coronavirus have been reported. Delta dominated 87% of the total discoveries of the new variants identified this week.

“The pediatric and juvenile population was not initially a priority target for vaccination in any part of the world, as coronavirus infection tends to present in a mild form in the vast majority of cases, and only very few people have severe forms, even the dreaded complication of multisystem inflammatory syndrome after COVID-19 disease, Dr Guzzi explained to Infobae.

Meanwhile, Dr Javier Farina, member of the Argentine Society of Infectology (SADI) and head of the infectology service at the Hospital de Alta Complejidad Cuenca Alta, in Cañuelas, province of Buenos Aires, stressed that It should also be noted that children and adolescents have resumed almost all of the face-to-face activities they did before the pandemic. It is a population that is not vaccinated. Faced with the appearance of variants such as the Delta, which are more contagious, and while the vaccination plan is expanding, the main thing today is that children and adolescents follow preventive measures. such as the correct use of a chin strap, keep your distance, avoid meetings in closed places without permanent ventilation, and wash the controls frequently ”.

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