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COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia

The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and mass vaccination programmes in adults have significantly reduced the case attack rates and disease burden. COVID-19 vaccination successfully decreases the population at risk of infection, allowing for the safer re-opening of economies and reducing the pandem...

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Main Authors:	Ceah, Fook Choe, Thong, Meow Keong, Zulkifli, Ismail, Zilfalil, Alwi, Amir Hamzah, Abdul Latiff, Chan, Patrick Wai Kiong, Khoo, Erwin Jiayuan, Noran Naqiah, Hairi
Format:	Article
Published:	Dept Pathology, Kuala Lumpur 2022
Subjects:	R Medicine
Online Access:	http://eprints.um.edu.my/41207/
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spelling	my.um.eprints.412072023-09-13T07:18:06Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/41207/ COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia Ceah, Fook Choe Thong, Meow Keong Zulkifli, Ismail Zilfalil, Alwi Amir Hamzah, Abdul Latiff Chan, Patrick Wai Kiong Khoo, Erwin Jiayuan Noran Naqiah, Hairi R Medicine The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and mass vaccination programmes in adults have significantly reduced the case attack rates and disease burden. COVID-19 vaccination successfully decreases the population at risk of infection, allowing for the safer re-opening of economies and reducing the pandemic's crippling impact on healthcare systems. However, the rapidly mutating severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 poses challenges in diminishing vaccine-induced immunity and vaccinating a significant proportion of adults to achieve herd immunity. These challenges necessitated adolescent vaccination. With the recent emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and the increasing COVID-19 hospitalisation rates of children below 12 years old, many countries opted to also vaccinate younger children. Phase II/III clinical trials and real-world experience demonstrate that COVID-19 vaccinations are effective and safe for younger children and adolescents. Before Malaysia introduced its national COVID-19 vaccination programme for children 5-11 years old (which ran between March and June 2022), an expert advisory statement was issued by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, to highlight the benefits and importance of vaccinating children. The advisory statement included clarifications about vaccine-related side effects such as post-vaccination myocarditis and allergic reactions to encourage informed decision making by healthcare providers and parents. This paper, which was prepared based on the critical appraisal of the current evidence, evaluation of the international experiences and the positive impact of COVID-19 vaccination in children, collectively sums up the rationale to support and ensure the success of the nationwide vaccination programme for children. Hence, the College recommends COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia. Dept Pathology, Kuala Lumpur 2022-08 Article PeerReviewed Ceah, Fook Choe and Thong, Meow Keong and Zulkifli, Ismail and Zilfalil, Alwi and Amir Hamzah, Abdul Latiff and Chan, Patrick Wai Kiong and Khoo, Erwin Jiayuan and Noran Naqiah, Hairi (2022) COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Pathology, 44 (2). pp. 177-185. ISSN 0126-8635, DOI https://doi.org/10.1520/malay.124 <https://doi.org/10.1520/malay.124>. 10.1520/malay.124
institution	Universiti Malaya
building	UM Library
collection	Institutional Repository
continent	Asia
country	Malaysia
content_provider	Universiti Malaya
content_source	UM Research Repository
url_provider	http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic	R Medicine
spellingShingle	R Medicine Ceah, Fook Choe Thong, Meow Keong Zulkifli, Ismail Zilfalil, Alwi Amir Hamzah, Abdul Latiff Chan, Patrick Wai Kiong Khoo, Erwin Jiayuan Noran Naqiah, Hairi COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
description	The availability of COVID-19 vaccines and mass vaccination programmes in adults have significantly reduced the case attack rates and disease burden. COVID-19 vaccination successfully decreases the population at risk of infection, allowing for the safer re-opening of economies and reducing the pandemic's crippling impact on healthcare systems. However, the rapidly mutating severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 poses challenges in diminishing vaccine-induced immunity and vaccinating a significant proportion of adults to achieve herd immunity. These challenges necessitated adolescent vaccination. With the recent emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and the increasing COVID-19 hospitalisation rates of children below 12 years old, many countries opted to also vaccinate younger children. Phase II/III clinical trials and real-world experience demonstrate that COVID-19 vaccinations are effective and safe for younger children and adolescents. Before Malaysia introduced its national COVID-19 vaccination programme for children 5-11 years old (which ran between March and June 2022), an expert advisory statement was issued by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, to highlight the benefits and importance of vaccinating children. The advisory statement included clarifications about vaccine-related side effects such as post-vaccination myocarditis and allergic reactions to encourage informed decision making by healthcare providers and parents. This paper, which was prepared based on the critical appraisal of the current evidence, evaluation of the international experiences and the positive impact of COVID-19 vaccination in children, collectively sums up the rationale to support and ensure the success of the nationwide vaccination programme for children. Hence, the College recommends COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia.
format	Article
author	Ceah, Fook Choe Thong, Meow Keong Zulkifli, Ismail Zilfalil, Alwi Amir Hamzah, Abdul Latiff Chan, Patrick Wai Kiong Khoo, Erwin Jiayuan Noran Naqiah, Hairi
author_facet	Ceah, Fook Choe Thong, Meow Keong Zulkifli, Ismail Zilfalil, Alwi Amir Hamzah, Abdul Latiff Chan, Patrick Wai Kiong Khoo, Erwin Jiayuan Noran Naqiah, Hairi
author_sort	Ceah, Fook Choe
title	COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
title_short	COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
title_full	COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
title_fullStr	COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed	COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
title_sort	covid-19 vaccination for children in malaysia- a position statement by the college of paediatrics, academy of medicine of malaysia
publisher	Dept Pathology, Kuala Lumpur
publishDate	2022
url	http://eprints.um.edu.my/41207/
_version_	1778161641385361408
score	13.211869

COVID-19 vaccination for children in Malaysia- A position statement by the College of Paediatrics, Academy of Medicine of Malaysia

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