The transmission of Covid-19 virus to children has increased. As of 5 July 2021, IDAI (Indonesian Pediatrician Association) recorded 140.877 Covid-19 casesin children, with 556 of the cases resulting in death. To prevent further increase, The Jakarta Provincial Government intensifies the vaccination for children aged 12-17 years old. Vaccination is carried out by using CoronaVac vaccine and is included in the 3rd phase that also aimed for vulnerable people and the general public.

Perhaps, for some people, the vaccination for children raises questions. Is it important for children to get vaccinated? Is CoronaVac safe for kids? Will there be any severe side effects? If you want to know the answers, read the article below! 

Is Covid-19 Vaccination Important for Children?

Pay attention to children around you. They like to go around and touch anything that catches their attention. Their high curiosity and free spirit often make it more difficult for children to control themselves. It is possible that they are more easily exposed to the virus. Especially with a new variant, Delta, that is susceptible to infect the child age group.Therefore, vaccinating children is one of the best ways to protect them from the virus. 

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Basically, regardless of the age group of vaccination recipients, vaccines do play a big rolein building someone’s immune system against viruses. In vaccines, there are antigens which are a small, inactivated, and harmless component of a disease-causing organism. The antigen that is injected through the vaccine will form antibodies. These antibodies will train our immune system to recognize the incoming viruses. So, our bodies already have a defense system to fight the coronavirus. Thus, we’re not susceptible to getting sick.

In the long term, the injection of the vaccine will also form herd immunity. If more people are vaccinated, then more people become immune to the virus. The transmission will decrease, so that more people won’t be infected by the virus, even those who cannot be vaccinated due to certain medical conditions. 

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Is CoronaVac Vaccine Safe For Children?  

Now you know that vaccines are important for children to prevent the transmission of Covid-19. Next, another question is raised, how about the safety of the vaccine? As you’ve read before, the vaccine used for the aged 12-17 vaccination is CoronaVac. This vaccine is produced by Sinovac, a biopharmaceutical company in Beijing, China. It has been used in the previous vaccination phase in Jakarta for medical workers and public service officers.

Other countries like China, have already used the CoronaVac for children. Based on the report published in The Lancet journal on 28 June 2021, CoronaVac is proven safeand could induce immune response well. Out of 550 children aged 3-18 years old who were vaccinated, 96% of them succeeded in developing antibodies towards Covid-19. There were only mild and moderate side effects as a sign that the vaccine is working. The most reported side effect is pain at the injection area.

How about Jakarta? At the moment, The National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM) has given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or the approval for emergency use of the CoronaVac vaccine for children as well as the release of the vaccination guidelines. The guidelines include information regarding the interval for the 2-doses injection schedule, the amount of each dose, and the methods vaccine injection. You don’t have to worry! The vaccine is proven safe to be injected for children, since the implementation is carried out based on a detailed guideline. 

Vaccination is important so that children or adults can be protected from Covid-19 virus. However, obeying health protocols is equally important. Being vaccinated does not guarantee that you won’t be infected or transmit the Coronavirus. So, please keep wearing masks, wash your hands, maintain your distance, avoid crowds, and reduce mobility, even if you have been vaccinated. Don’t forget to remind the children around you not to let their guard down in complying with health protocols. If you want to register a child aged 12-17 years old to be vaccinated, you can use JAKI, available to download through the Google Play Storeor Apple App Store.