Portugal has already registered 75,000 cases in children under 18 years old, 40% in children between 5 and 11 years old
“During 2021, 6.9% of the total cases of covid-19 occurred in children aged 5 to 11. This trend shows a growing trend since the beginning of the year, having risen from 4% on January 1st to 14% in November “, a trend identical to that registered in the countries of the European Union, is read in the opinion of the Technical Commission on Vaccination Against Covid-19 (CTVC) released today by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
The technical position on vaccination against Covid-19 in children aged 5 to 11 years is the result of international studies and the consultation of other scientific sources, concluding that “the benefit-risk assessment is favorable to universal vaccination of children in this age group age, being a priority in children with comorbidities assessed as risk for a severe covid-19”.
The position was voted in favor of all effective members, with 10 members voting one in favor of universal vaccination with prioritization of at-risk children with comorbidities and three members voting in favor of universal vaccination.
The data present in the document presented that the age group from 5 to 11 years is the one with the greatest increase in the absolute number of cases among pediatric ages.
At the end of November 2021, this group surpassed 800 cases accumulated at 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants and, compared to all other ages, it is the one with the highest risk of infection, with the closest age group being that of young people aged 18 to 24 years with 470 cases accumulated to 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants.
Citing numbers from the BI-SINAVE database and the Hospital Morbidity Database, the document indicates that, in 2021, an average of 0.21% of cases aged 5-11 years were hospitalized, with hospitalizations over 24 hours in 90 % of cases, with covid-19 being coded as the main diagnosis in about 50% of these admissions.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) Report, the average risk of hospitalization in European Union countries is 0.61%.
In 217 children of this age group who were hospitalized in Portugal for covid-19 until 3 November 2021, 20 cases were registered that required assistance in intensive care, 9.2% of the total, a value that coincides with 10.5% (42 out of 399) of children who required such care in 10 EU countries”.
By December 4, 2021, three children had died, one aged four months, one aged seven months and one aged four.
The opinion verified that there are serious forms of covid-19 in children, namely the Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), with approximately 1 to 10 cases of this disease per 100,000 infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal.
Regarding vaccination, the opinion of the technical committee recommends that an interval of 14 days should be respected between the administration of the vaccine against covid-19 and other vaccines, from the National Vaccination Program, or other vaccines administered from age groups.
The General Directorate of Health released today the calendar for the vaccination of children from 5 to 11 years old.