(Updated: 9:49)
At least ten children under the age of 16 received the vaccine developed by the Pfizer against the corona virus in Israel, even though it was approved for emergency use from the age of 16 and up. This is what Meital Yasur Beit Or reported on “Israel Today” this morning (Wednesday).
The vaccinated children suffer from severe lung disease, abnormal neurological conditions or obesity – conditions that include them in a group that is at increased risk for complications of the virus. All vaccinations have been approved by the Exceptions Committee, and the Ministry of Health has said no reports of vaccine side effects have been received.
As you may recall, Pfizer’s vaccine has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) For emergency use from the age of 16 and up. A similar permit for use at these ages can be vaccinated in Israel, but the Ministry of Health’s Priority Committee has determined that the HMOs will establish a mechanism for managing exceptional cases, which in special cases can also grant a vaccine to children under 16.
Prof. Eli Somekh, director of the children’s ward at Maayan Hayeshua Hospital, an infectious disease specialist and a member of the Priority Committee, said: “I have encountered exceptional cases of children, especially those aged 12 and over, who needed the vaccine. “.
“In children with significant background illnesses, there is a concern that corona may be a serious illness,” Prof. Somekh noted. “These are children with extreme obesity, severe lung disease or metabolic diseases. In such children, the benefit of the vaccine far outweighs the uncertainty about the vaccine.”
Dr. Orly Greenfeld, the medical director of the Magen Israel program, addressed this morning the issue of vaccinating boys under the age of 16: “We do not sweepingly vaccinate children under the age of 16,” she emphasized in an interview here. Children under the age of 16 are seen to have very serious diseases, especially very serious lung diseases. In such cases, of very exceptional risk factors, the medical consideration is made between the effect of the vaccine and its ability to prevent coronary heart disease and the risk that that child will contract the disease and the high risk of serious illness and even mortality. “
The Director General of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Hezi Levy, last week adopted the decision of the Priority Committee headed by Dr. Boaz Lev to vaccinate students aged 18-16 – including 12th grade students, even if they have passed the age of 18. In recent days, the HMOs have begun vaccinating The young people at these ages, and in the Ministry of Health, have said that there has been a high response so far, and as a result of the decision, some 300,000 teenagers are expected to receive the vaccine in the coming days.