Is it safer to let children become infected naturally? Doctor: Wrong concept! Vaccination is the key
Is it better to let children get infected naturally rather than get vaccinated? Physician: Misconception
Omicron The local epidemic continues to heat up. Some parents are worried about the side effects and sequelae of the new coronavirus vaccine. Is it safer to let children gain immunity through “natural infection”? Dr. Qiu Nanchang, director of the medical department and director of the emergency and intensive care department of Mackay Children’s Hospital, stressed in an interview that “this is a wrong concept.” Judging from the vaccination and infection data of foreign children, it is strongly recommended that children should receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Overseas epidemics are more severe and occur earlier than in Taiwan. We know from foreign situations that the risk of severe illness in children due to infection is much higher than vaccination. Although the severe infection rate in children is lower than that in adults, there are still some cases without special For severe cases, if the child has a chronic disease, the chance of severe illness is higher!”
Dr. Qiu Nanchang said that Omicron is highly contagious, and in the future the community will either be naturally infected or be vaccinated and have protection. For generally healthy children, vaccination with the COVID-19 vaccine can reduce the chance of severe illness after infection; for children with chronic diseases, neurological diseases, metabolic, heart or lung problems, the risk of severe illness and complications after infection is higher, and they should be more careful. Vaccination increases protection.
Are parents afraid of vaccinating their children for myocarditis? Doctors urge: “Treat first, first to protect yourself”
“What parents are most worried about is whether there will be serious side effects from vaccination? The answer is almost none! Taking the first dose of Moderna as an example, only about 3% will have fever. Other side effects such as pain at the vaccination site, most of them will Just apply ice or give antipyretics and you will recover in 2 or 3 days.”
Dr. Qiu Nanchang pointed out that many parents are worried about developing myocarditis after vaccination. From the available data, it can be seen that the rate of myocarditis after vaccination among the 6-11 year old age group is “very, very low”, which is much lower than that of teenagers and other young groups.
In addition, parents are worried about the side effects of the Moderna vaccine and hope to wait until the Pfizer children’s vaccine arrives before vaccinating their children. Dr. Qiu Nanchang pointed out that it can be inferred from the adult data that the Moderna vaccine has a higher antibody concentration and a slight increase in adverse reactions. Otherwise there is not much difference from the Pfizer vaccine. The incidence rate of pain is between 80% and 90%, and the incidence rate of fatigue is between 40% and 60%, but most of them are mild and pass in two or three days.
The biggest difference between the two vaccines is in the second dose. Dr. Qiu Nanchang explained that the fever rate of Pfizer and Moderna in the first dose was close, about 3%, while the rate of fever in the second dose of Moderna was more than 20%. Antipyretics were given can be relieved. Doctors emphasize that the interval between two doses of children’s vaccines must be three months. Considering the rapid change of the current epidemic situation, it is still recommended that as long as there are vaccines available at this stage, children should be vaccinated with the first dose as soon as possible. “First, first, first to protect.”
Please take quarantine leave to protect children? The O poison is too strong and it’s useless to screen it every day?
In addition, many parents are worried that they will bring the virus home and infect their children when they go out to work or go shopping. They ask for epidemic prevention leave from the company and “quasi-quarantine” at home. Can they reduce the risk of children’s infection?
Dr. Qiu Nanchang said that taking epidemic prevention leave has limited effect in preventing children from being infected at home. The contagiousness of Omicron can be said to be “one to ten”. Many asymptomatic people are infected without knowing it, and parents cannot confirm whether those around them have been diagnosed. , it is difficult to avoid being infected or carrying the virus home. It is possible that the rapid test will be negative in the morning and the virus will be infected in the afternoon. In this case, “daily rapid test is useless”, and it is even more necessary for children to be vaccinated.
Although Omicron is highly contagious, don’t panic too much! If your child has warning symptoms, seek medical attention immediately
Recently, a doctor posted on social media that Omicron is “particularly vicious” to children. Dr. Qiu Nanchang believes that the new coronavirus has continued to mutate since its emergence. During the previous Wuhan strain, Alpha strain, and Delta strain, the infection rate in children was low. After the Omicron pandemic, the infection rate in children increased to about 20%. Although Omicron is less severe than previous strains of the virus, due to its high contagiousness, the number of infected people has increased, resulting in the total number of children requiring hospitalization in the intensive care unit being much higher than in previous waves.
“From the doctor’s point of view, we would like to remind everyone that parents should not treat Omicron infection as unimportant, but there is no need to panic too much. If you have mild symptoms, you can rest at home. If you have a high fever that does not go away, or you have unusual fatigue and poor activity after the fever goes away, , or even symptoms such as epilepsy and dehydration, which are the same warning symptoms of all childhood infectious diseases and should be sent to the doctor as soon as possible!”
Dr. Qiu Nanchang called on parents to pay attention to their children’s physical condition as the epidemic continues to rise, maintain a healthy schedule and exercise regularly, and recommended that their children be vaccinated as early as possible. However, parents are also reminded not to rush into hospital emergency rooms out of excessive panic, so as not to crowd out medical treatment and make their children suffer more.
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