COVID-19 Vaccination for 6th Graders, Overseas Extends to 'Age 5?'... Will 'All-Age Vaccination' Happen Next Year?

On the 26th (local time), 15-year-old teenager Brian Lopez received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in California, USA. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] With the COVID-19 vaccination now permitted for pregnant women and adolescents aged 12 to 17, who were previously excluded due to safety concerns, attention is turning to whether vaccination for the 'entire population' will be possible next year, as overseas projections suggest the vaccination age could be lowered to 5 years old.

Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a member of Pfizer's board, stated in a CNBC interview on the 30th (local time), "Clinical trial results for COVID-19 vaccines targeting children aged 5 to 11 are expected next month," and he predicted that vaccine authorization for this age group could be granted within this year.

Currently, Pfizer's vaccine has full approval for those aged 16 and older in the U.S., and emergency use authorization for adolescents aged 12 to 15. Pfizer plans to apply for emergency use authorization for children aged 5 to 11 as soon as the clinical trial results are released next month. Considering the usual review period of 4 to 6 weeks, approval is expected around November to December.

Yesterday, South Korea's Vaccination Expert Committee recommended vaccination for pregnant women and adolescents aged 12 to 17, who had been excluded from COVID-19 vaccination until now, signaling the start of adolescent vaccinations. Furthermore, if children as young as 5 can also receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the path will open to complete vaccination for the entire population next year.

The Vaccination Expert Committee recommended including adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the vaccination target group, as Pfizer's vaccine has recently been approved domestically for those aged 12 and above, confirming safety and efficacy, and as major countries including the WHO have verified the vaccine's effectiveness and safety post-vaccination. Currently, 2,768,836 adolescents aged 12 to 17 are prioritized for vaccination this year, such as college entrance exam candidates, and except for 15,287 individuals (0.6%) who have received at least one dose, vaccination has not been permitted.

Health authorities aim to start vaccinating this group from the fourth quarter and plan to establish and announce detailed vaccination plans around next month. Jeong Eun-kyung, head of the COVID-19 Vaccination Response Task Force (Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency), stated, "For children and adolescents aged 12 to 17, experts and the Vaccination Committee have recommended vaccination in the form of individual inoculations rather than group vaccinations, based on the consent of parents and students," adding, "We will discuss detailed implementation plans considering this."

The vaccine administered to this group is likely to be Pfizer's initially. Domestically, Korea Pfizer has completed the product license amendment to lower the vaccination age to 12 and above based on overseas clinical results. However, Moderna's vaccine is also under review by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to lower the minimum age to 12. If the vaccination age for Moderna is also lowered, the specific vaccine will be decided later through expert consultation.

Additionally, about 270,000 pregnant women, who are a high-risk group for COVID-19 but have been excluded from vaccination, are expected to be able to receive vaccines starting in the fourth quarter. The Vaccination Expert Committee reported that major countries have found no safety issues after vaccinating pregnant women, and that the WHO, the U.S., the U.K., and others recommend vaccination for pregnant women. Therefore, pregnant women will also be included in the vaccination target group, similar to adolescents. Pregnant women are expected to receive messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines.

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

However, concerns remain as the incidence of vaccine side effects such as thrombocytopenic rare thrombosis syndrome (TTS), a side effect of viral vector vaccines, and myocarditis/pericarditis, side effects of mRNA vaccines, tend to increase in younger age groups, posing obstacles to vaccination. Due to concerns about TTS side effects, the recommended vaccination age for AstraZeneca (AZ) and Janssen vaccines, which had been raised to 50 years old, was lowered back to 30 years and older after re-evaluating the balance between vaccination benefits and TTS risk as the 'fourth wave' intensified. Nevertheless, due to ongoing concerns about vaccine side effects, low vaccination participation continues among younger populations for both viral vector and mRNA vaccines.

Choi (43), who has a child in the first year of middle school, said, "I got vaccinated because I am at high risk of infection while commuting," but added, "I worry about what might happen if my young child develops myocarditis or similar conditions after vaccination." He further stated, "I think I will make a careful decision by reviewing research results released until the time of vaccination."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.