The World Health Organisation (WHO) appears to be at odds with the Ministry of Health on the urgency of vaccinating kids against COVID-19.
A group of parents in New Zealand, who wished to remain anonymous, launched legal action on Tuesday calling for an urgent review of medicine regulator Medsafe's decision to roll out the Pfizer vaccine to 5 to 11 year olds.
The parents cited a link to WHO's website that prompted concern. It says: "There are currently no efficacy or safety data for children below the age of 12 years. Until such data are available, individuals below 12 years of age should not be routinely vaccinated."
A Ministry of Health spokesperson told Newshub efficacy and safety data for children below the age of 12 does exist and is publicly available, and that for questions about content on the WHO website, "you're best to contact them directly."
The results of Pfizer's phase 2-3 trial in 5 to 11 year olds, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November, concluded that two doses given 21 days apart was "safe, immunogenic, and efficacious".
WHO, when approached by Newshub to explain why the information on their website contradicted the Ministry of Health, said it was "less urgent" to vaccinate children and that their expert advisory group was currently reviewing evidence.
A spokesperson said WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE) was holding an "extraordinary meeting" on January 19 to "review the evidence on booster and paediatric data for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, against COVID-19 with a view to updating its interim recommendations for its use".
"Recommendations for safe and efficacious administration of vaccines to groups below the ages listed in the interim recommendations issued by SAGE are under continuous review," WHO states.
"Besides clinical evidence on safety and efficacy, WHO makes recommendations on the prioritisation of vaccination."
WHO says countries should "consider the individual and population benefits of immunising children and adolescents in their specific epidemiological and social context when developing their COVID-19 immunisation policies and programs.
"As children and adolescents tend to have milder disease compared to adults, unless they are in 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."
WHO also says vaccinating adolescents and children should be weighed against the "global context of inequitable vaccine distribution across countries and globally limited vaccine supply".
The Ministry of Health's Rachel Mackay, Group Manager, Operations, National Immunisation Programme, argued there was plenty of evidence that vaccinating children was the right way to go and stressed that it's not compulsory.
"COVID vaccination for children in New Zealand is an entirely voluntary decision for parents to make, backed by robust and publicly available information," she told Newshub.
"Medsafe granted provisional approval for a version of the Pfizer vaccine for children in December, following a robust review process of the data provided by Pfizer, which has been trialled in this age group overseas.
"The United States has approved and rolled out millions of doses in this age group, and other countries including Australia, Canada and Israel as well as the European Union have authorised its use in children aged 5-11 years.
"The vaccine for 5-11 year-olds has been through clinical trials with children in this age group. In general, the side effects that were reported were mild, didn't last long, and were similar to side effects from other routine vaccines. These side effects are also reported to be similar to those experienced by older age groups.
"Medsafe only grants approval for a vaccine or medicine once it is satisfied that it has met stringent standards for quality, safety and efficacy."
The Ministry of Health has already been forced to debunk claims that children at a North Shore vaccination clinic were collapsing after receiving the vaccine.
The Centre for Disease Control in the United States published an interim safety report following administration of 8 million doses in this age group, which has shown some encouraging results.
Results from the trial of the vaccine (mentioned earlier) in children aged 5 to 11, who were given two doses 21 days apart, show it was safe.
The trial took place from March 24 to April 14 last year, with 50 American children in phase 1. It was then expanded to 2268 kids across 81 sites in the United States, Spain, Finland, and Poland for phase 2-3.
The observed vaccine efficacy was 90.7 percent.
