In an interview with Army Radio Sunday, Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash said, "As long as the reproduction rate stays like this and doesn't rise, everything is fine. It's troubling, but we need to put it in proportion."
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He said: "There's no doubt the sense among the public is that we have exited the fourth wave, and we are safe. Now is the time to go back to adhering to guidelines. We don't want a return to restrictions."
In an interview with Kan Radio, Director of Public Health Services at the Health Ministry Dr. Sharon Elroi Preiss said, "I believe there will be high responsiveness to the pediatric vaccine. There are all kinds of slogans that the coronavirus is not a children's disease. It is true that it harms adults more, but it can cause serious illness in children too, both during the [onset of] the illness and through symptoms."
As for Israel's pediatric vaccination campaign, Ash said, "I hope the decision to vaccinate children also wakes up those who need to receive a booster."
The governmental advisory committee on vaccines and the coronavirus on Sunday voted to recommend vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11, with three weeks between the first and second dose.
According to a Health Ministry statement, the committee, whose recommendations are subject to the authorization of Health Ministry Director-General Nachman Ash, cited "world data that assesses the efficacy of various intervals between the first and second vaccine.
"With a majority of votes, the committee decided to recommend adherence to the existing vaccination protocol for administering the second dose at an interval of three weeks in light of the fight there are still no data showing any advantages to changing the protocol and in relation to the fact that morbidity is not at an all-time low, a majority of morbidity today is among children and therefore administration of the vaccine should not be delayed," the advisory committee said in a statement.
The committee also discussed the administration of the booster shots to teens aged 12 to 15. A majority of committee members supported administering them at least five months after the second dose.
The committee is expected to discuss vaccination for children who have recovered from the virus and are able to provide a positive serological test. Children who recovered from the virus are not currently eligible for the vaccine.
"Low risk doesn't mean no risk"
With children aged 5 to 11 eligible to receive Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine starting Tuesday, Israel Hayom spoke to the Director of Hillel Yaffe Medical Center's Infectious Diseases Unit, Dr. Michal Stein about concerns many parents may have regarding the vaccine.
Q: Children who contract the virus either do not develop symptoms or will be mildly ill. Why should we vaccinate them?
"Most children who contract the coronavirus will not be symptomatic or will be mildly ill, but low risk doesn't mean no risk. Around one in every 900 children who test positive for the virus could be hospitalized in moderate or critical condition as a result of the coronavirus and its complications. Some of the children could develop the inflammatory multisystem syndrome known as PIMS. Likewise, they can suffer from long COVID.
Q: Why should we vaccinate children, who aren't a high-risk population in Israel, when the pandemic is waning?
"The vaccine received emergency authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration and the Israeli Health Ministry after it was proven effective and safe for this age group.
"From the moment the coronavirus became an avoidable disease in children, [the situation is] just like other infectious diseases in children, [where] we vaccinate although now their morbidity levels are not high.
"Now is precisely the time to vaccinate because the inoculation process takes around five to six weeks. Now is the time to protect the children from the next wave."
Q: What about long-term complications from the vaccine?
"There are no known negative consequences of vaccinating healthy individuals that show up months or years later, and there is no biological logic in that happening.
"In contrast, there are concerns infection with the coronavirus will cause additional damage that will be discovered in the distant future, similar to what happens following infection with other known viruses like the measles, which following recovery can lead to severe encephalitis and death.
Q: Will the vaccine reduce long-term complications from COVID-19?
"The assessment is that vaccination against the virus will significantly reduce children's risk of suffering from complications of the virus, as the vaccines significantly reduce the risk of infection with the virus. Moreover, other vaccines that were developed against other viral diseases greatly reduced their later complications.
Q: What are the risks and side-effects of vaccination in children?
"Experience gained from monitoring the administration of tens of millions of doses in teens aged 12 and over shows the vast majority of side effects from the vaccine are mild and passing. Local symptoms such as redness or soreness at the injection site, and the general symptoms are weakness, headache, and chills. These symptoms are usually mild to moderate, and they pass within 24 to 48 hours.
After large-scale administration of the vaccine, a rare side-effect of myocarditis [inflammation of the heart muscle] was discovered. The maximum incidence in boys aged 16 to 19 after receiving the second dose was one in 6,6000, when for the vast majority, 95%, this was a mild and passing symptom. As for children aged 5 to 11, as part of the clinical trials around 3,000 trials were vaccinated, and not one incident of myocarditis [was reported]."
Q: Are there children aged 5 to 11 who have already been vaccinated?
"Over 3,000 children have been vaccinated in Pfizer's clinical trials, among whom there were no significant abnormal events related to the vaccine. In Israel, where the decision was made to make an exception and authorize vaccination in those with pre-existing conditions, 163 children have received one dose, and 128 children have received the second dose.
"There was one lone case of a significant unusual event in proximity to the vaccine – a seizure, eight days after vaccination.
Moreover, according to US authorities, around 1 million children in this age group received the first dose of Pfizer's [vaccine], and there are no known reports of abnormal safety incidents."
Q: Can an mRNA vaccine penetrate our DNA?
"There is no scientific plausibility to these false claims of supposed genetic damage that can be caused as a result of vaccination with these vaccines."
Q: Do children who contracted the virus over the last year require vaccination? If so, why?
"In the US, the Centers for Disease Control recommended vaccinating all children, including the recovered. In Israel, a decision on the subject has yet to be made."
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