Benefits of vaccinating tamariki
Benefits of vaccinating tamariki
COVID-19 generally has mild effects in children and is rarely severe or fatal. Children who have COVID-19 will commonly have no symptoms or only mild respiratory symptoms, similar to a cold. However, some can become very sick and need to go to hospital.
Rare complications can include Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-C), which may require intensive care. This age group can also suffer long-term side effects (known as long COVID), even after mild cases of COVID-19.
Like adults, if your child is infected with COVID-19 they may transmit the virus to other people. Immunising tamariki helps protect whānau members whose health makes them more vulnerable to COVID-19.
Vaccine effectiveness
Vaccine effectiveness
If children and young people who have been vaccinated do develop COVID-19, they are far less likely to fall seriously ill and less likely to transmit the virus to others.
For children aged 5 to 11, clinical trial results showed the Pfizer vaccine was 90.7% effective against getting COVID-19 symptoms, and no participants developed severe COVID-19.
Explaining the vaccine to tamariki
Explaining the vaccine to tamariki
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