UAE: 96% of Kids Aged 3-17 Developed Antibodies After Vaccine

Antibodies to fight Covid-19 developed in more than 96% of children aged 3 to 17 who took part in the Sinopharm immune bridge study.

Fortunately, none of the children who received both doses caught the coronavirus.

While more than 900 children took part in the study, 29.7% experienced pain in the injection site; 8% had headaches and 3.7% developed a fever. However, the side effects were gone within a couple of days.

All young volunteers were closely monitored and the study was conducted with full parental consent.

The Covid vaccine approved for children aged between 3 and 11 years is Sinopharm; while those aged between 12 and 15 years can be given either Sinopharm or Pfizer-BioNtech.

The roll-out of the vaccine for this age group in the UAE is likely to support a safer return to school for many children in September, especially as COVID-19 variants increase infection rates worldwide.

To date, the UAE had provided Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines to only children aged 12 years and older, and this will therefore be the first chance for residents to vaccinate younger children against COVID-19.

The UAE has so far administered more than 15.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with more than 64% of the population having received more than two doses till date