ASOURCE Navi

Regarding the new coronavirus vaccination for 5 to 11 years old, the application of "obligation to make efforts" based on the Immunization Act began in early September. About inoculation of child, it is due to constant scientific knowledge under the Omicron stock epidemic being provided. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says that vaccination is not compulsory, but should be taken based on the judgment of the person or guardian.

The new coronavirus vaccine for 5 to 11 years old will start in February 2022, and as of September 12, 18.6% of children have completed two doses, which is overwhelmingly lower than other age groups.

From September 6th, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has changed the vaccination of 5 to 11 years old from "recommended" to "obligation to make efforts". The Vaccination Law stipulates that "you must make an effort to get vaccinated." If the subject is under the age of 16, the guardian must "make efforts to take necessary measures to have them receive it." Unlike the obligation, it is a form of calling for cooperation in vaccination from the perspective of prevention.

The reason for the change to an obligation to make efforts is that new data has been clarified that it can be expected to prevent the onset of children, who account for the majority of the 7th wave, to a certain extent and prevent aggravation. According to overseas clinical trials, two doses of vaccination at ages 5 to 11 are moderately effective in preventing the onset of the disease, and about 80% of the hospitalization prevention effects are reported within two months after vaccination. . In addition, an analysis using a large-scale database in the United States reported that there were no safety concerns, and reports of suspected adverse reactions in Japan also indicated that there were no serious concerns.

Most of the infected children have mild symptoms, but the number of infected people is rapidly increasing under the epidemic of the Omicron strain. In the week from September 7th, 91,071 people under the age of 10 were infected, accounting for about 16% of the total. Severe cases of encephalopathy and myocarditis have also been seen, and there were no deaths due to corona in children under the age of 10 in 2021 before the Omicron strain epidemic, but 21 cases have been reported in the nine months since the Omicron strain epidemic.

In response to the movement of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Japan Pediatric Society also changed its view on vaccination from "meaningful" to "recommending vaccination" in August. The reason for this is that it was determined that the benefits (prevention of onset, prevention of aggravation, etc.) greatly outweigh the demerits (side effects, etc.).

Evidence regarding the 3rd vaccination has also been accumulated, and it has been reported that the infection prevention effect, which decreased over time, can be recovered by the 3rd vaccination, and that side effects are similar to those of the 2nd vaccination. The obligation to make efforts will also be applied to

From the perspective of protecting the population, efforts are also required to prevent vaccinations such as four types of routine vaccinations, measles, and rubella, which are carried out based on the Preventive Vaccinations Act.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says, ``Vaccination is not compulsory, and there is no change in having it based on the judgment of the person or guardian.''