The child who, yesterday morning, died of Covid at the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin was 10 years old. He had been transferred from the hospital in Mondovì, in the province of Cuneo, and was already in very serious conditions, in hypothermia, with rhabdomyolysis (severe damage to skeletal muscle) e suspected myocarditis. All symptoms triggered by the virus. The child was immediately subjected to specific treatment against Covid, up to the point of dialysis.
As the Corriere della Sera, ‘The patient was not vaccinated; a choice of the family, made up entirely of vaccinated adults, linked to health precautions ». The child would have suffered from epilepsy, a disorder for which there are no contraindications to anti Covid injections.
According to an elaboration by the Italian Society of Pediatricians (Sip) on data from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, about 400 children have been hospitalized in the last week between 5 and 11 years. “The growth in the incidence rate is slowing down in all age groups except for children under 11, for whom it is increasing,” explains Sip president Annamaria Staiano. “In the last week in children between 5 and 11 years old, for whom a safe and effective vaccine is available, about 400 hospitalizations were recorded out of the 834 that involved the population 0-19 years”. Currently only 7% of the 3,656,069 Italian children between 5 and 11 years have completed the vaccination cycle with two doses and 27% were immunized with the first dose.
“This drama underscores the fact that even children can die from Covid, even if the variants seem less aggressive. Among the entire child population, some can suffer important consequences. Vaccination protects, and protects well»Explains Guido Castelli Gattinara, pediatrician and infectious disease specialist, member of the Technical Table Vaccinations and Infectious Diseases of the Sip.
Can even the most fragile children get the Covid vaccine?
“Yes, it is precisely the most fragile, for example those with heart or neurological problems, who must be vaccinated first. What we advocate is that all children must be vaccinated, those who are well and have a low risk, just like those who are ill and run a higher risk ».
What about the side effects?
«The damage that this vaccine – which we consider absolutely safe – could cause are, in any case, much less than that which could cause the disease, which can lead to very serious conditions. In the US, 10 million children have been vaccinated and 11 cases of myocarditis have been recorded, one in a million – all resolved with Nurofen-based therapy, some without even requiring hospitalization ».
Symptoms for children are usually mild.
“Usually it is, but some – rare – very serious forms occur. You have to choose the lowest risk for your children: getting the vaccine, which in 99.9% of cases will have no side effect, while Covid can kill “.
What are the contraindications to the vaccine?
“An acute illness in progress, such as bacterial pneumonia. In that case, the vaccine is given when the therapy is completed. Or if there has been a very serious anaphylactic allergic reaction to a component of the vaccine or, again, during therapy for a tumor. When there is an immune deficiency, the vaccine is not given because it does not work ».
Does the vaccinated family constitute protection?
“Children can catch Covid elsewhere, such as at school: we must ensure that they are vaccinated. The hospitals are now full of children precisely because they are the ones who are not immunized ».
Why are children under 5 not vaccinated?
«Because the scientific community has concentrated the studies, first of all, on adults, who died the most, then on children from 5 years of age. Trials have also started on the very small ones, to evaluate if the vaccine works and what is the right dosage. There are no final results yet and, therefore, we do not yet have the authorization to use them. Most likely, vaccines are safe and effective even in children: they will be vaccinated too. Vaccinate your children, do it quietly ».
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