Almaz Sharman: studies have shown that vaccination of children is safe and effective

Almaz Sharman: studies have shown that vaccination of children is safe and effective
To form collective immunity against the coronavirus in Almaty, President of the Academy of Preventive Medicine, Almaz Sharman, recommends revaccination and the vaccination of adolescents. He announced this at the site of the Regional Communications Service.
 
- We must understand that children are the most mobile part of society, they communicate with both adults and peers, attend schools and it is clear that children are carriers of this infection. Therefore, many countries have decided to vaccinate children. Clinical studies carried out on more than 2000 children have shown that the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective, said A. Sharman.
 
A. Sharman recalled that not all vaccinations form immunity for life, some infections need to be vaccinated every five or ten years, from others, like the flu, annually. This is revaccination. Sometimes they use the term "booster vaccine", that is, another, additional vaccine.
 
- Over time, the effect of the vaccine weakens, in addition, new strains of COVID-19 appear regularly. Re-vaccination allows the formation of a sufficient level of antibodies to protect against all strains of the new coronavirus infection. Just recently, a large-scale study was carried out in Israel, which showed that in all age groups among those who had been vaccinated, especially in the elderly, the immune response was reduced over time. Therefore, there is a scientific rationale that recommends revaccination 6 months after vaccination, - said A. Sharman.
 
Speaking about the booster dose of the vaccine, A. Sharman noted that many scientists recommend cross-revaccination, that is, to receive the third vaccination with a different drug, but this is not essential.
- The Ministry of Health is actually considering mixing vaccines as an option. No one excludes the possibility of revaccinating with the same vaccine. However, I believe mixing different types of vaccines would be more efficient. There are no contraindications for mixing, says the scientist.