Caribbean News
CARPHA doubles down; the Agency does not recommend Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children
By Dana Malcolm & Deandrea Hamilton
Staff Writer
#TurksandCaicos, February 15, 2022 – Do not use adult doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years of age, says The Caribbean Public Health Agency, CARPHA and now, the Agency is making a new announcement that it has not recommended use of the Pfizer vaccine in children because the WHO arm, responsible for emergency listing has not given Pfizer the green light.
CARPHA, with this second public statement on the subject in mere days, is obviously hesitant to throw its full weight behind administering the vaccine to all children under 12 years old.
“The WHO Strategic Group of Experts (SAGE) that advises on Immunization has recommended the use of the vaccine in children 5-11 years of age. However, the approval of the product in full comes from a different group of experts called the World Health Organization Emergency Use Listing Prequalification Team. (EUL) This full product assessment is critical as it helps countries to be assured of the final vaccine product that may be registered in the country and used in children,” said CARPHA on Monday in a media statement.
Just last week came a stern warning in a press release that said CARPHA had not recommended the pediatric formulation. CARPHA noted that while uptake of the vaccine was critical in achieving maximum protection, there is a firm caution to Member States (which includes the Turks and Caicos Islands) against the use of any adult formulation of the vaccine on children.
Program manager of CARPHA, Dr. Rian Extavour said, “The possibility of errors in administering the vaccine dosage is of concern.”
Executive Director, Dr. Joy St. John also said, “Unless otherwise specified, Member States should continue
CARPHA is now doubling down on that message saying it matters to them that the prequalification team of the WHO looks at all aspects of the vaccine including: The composition; How it is made and where; How it is given (dispensed or administered); How it is packaged, and how it is to be stored.
It is unclear what is driving these messages but larger countries like the United Kingdom have approved the pediatric dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children only at the highest risk including those with learning disabilities and long-term conditions like diabetes. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization in the United Kingdom made the decision in December. No decision has been made for children who are not considered high risk.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Government has taken a different approach from the UK, giving approval for any child – healthy or immunocompromised – between the ages 5 to 11.
It makes Turks and Caicos one of the first and few in the region to do so.
Fellow Overseas Territory, Bermuda announced a decision – just last Tuesday – to use the pediatric doses; so too have Aruba (a part of the Dutch Caribbean) and the US Virgin Islands.
In terms of other British Overseas Territories, while Cayman does allow for vaccination of the 5 to 11 age group the child must be immunocompromised and have a letter from their doctor and in Gibraltar, vaccination of the age group is set for a March start but whether it will be for immunocompromised children only, is unstated at this time.
There is no information as yet on the direction on this step in the COVID response from other UKOTs: BVI or Monserrat.
Dr. Joy Saint John, Executive Director of CARPHA and Dr. Rian Extavour, CARPHA’s Program Manager are on the record as having long supported the operation procedure of the WHO EUL which says the prequalification team which develops summaries and makes recommendations must first give safety approval based on its own findings.
There is, at this time “no science” or compelling evidence from the WHO or the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (UK) to support administering the pediatric dosage of COVID-19 vaccine to healthy children.