With many children now getting COVID-19 in Fiji and an unfortunate death of a 15 year old girl, discussions continue with WHO on which vaccines will be approved for children

With many children now getting COVID-19 in Fiji and an unfortunate death of a 15-year-old girl from COVID, Head of the Vaccination Taskforce, Doctor Rachel Devi says discussions continue on which vaccines will be approved for children.

While speaking on the fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Doctor Devi says children make one third of our population, and they are looking into this issue with agencies like the WHO.

Doctor Devi says all efforts should be made to protect our children and for now all eligible adults in a household should ensure they get vaccinated to reduce the risk for the children living with them.

Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong says the 15-year-old from Colo-I-Suva was declared dead on arrival by the attending medical officer at the Raiwaqa Health Centre.

He says this means that she either died at home or on her way to the health facility.

Her family reported that she had been feeling unwell for 2 days.

Her symptoms included cough, shortness of breath and chest pain.

She was not vaccinated as she was not in the target population of people 18 years and over that are eligible to receive the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccines are safe for most people 18 years and older, including those with pre-existing conditions of any kind, including auto-immune disorders. These conditions include: hypertension, diabetes, asthma, pulmonary, liver and kidney disease, as well as chronic infections that are stable and controlled.

The WHO says children and adolescents tend to have milder disease compared to adults, so unless they are part of a group at higher risk of severe COVID-19, it is less urgent to vaccinate them than older people, those with chronic health conditions and health workers.

It says more evidence is needed on the use of the different COVID-19 vaccines in children to be able to make general recommendations on vaccinating children against COVID-19.

WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) has concluded that the Pfizer/BionTech vaccine is suitable for use by people aged 12 years and above. It says children aged between 12 and 15 years who are at high risk may be offered this vaccine alongside other priority groups for vaccination.

Vaccine trials for children are ongoing and WHO will update its recommendations when the evidence or epidemiological situation warrants a change in policy.