Two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese company Sinovac provoke a strong immune response among children, a new study indicates.
A clinical trial of 550 young people aged 3 to 17 was published in Britain's The Lancet medical journal on Monday.
It found more than 96 per cent of children and adolescents who received two injections of the vaccine developed antibodies against Covid-19.
Most adverse reactions to the vaccine were “mild or moderate”, with pain at the injection site the most common reaction, the study found.
The vaccine, also known as CoronaVac, is made by Beijing biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech.
The Sinovac vaccine has faced criticism over its effectiveness in adults. A large Phase 3 trial in Brazil showed the vaccine had efficacy of 51 per cent after two doses.
Qiang Gao, vice president of research and development at the company, said the study showed the vaccine was “well-tolerated and induced a strong immune response” among children.
“Children and adolescents with Covid-19 usually have mild or asymptomatic infections compared with adults," Mr Qiang said.
"However, a small number may still be at risk of severe illness.
“They can also transmit the virus to others, making it vital to test the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines in younger age groups.”
Prof Bin Cao, from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, urged authorities to consider vaccinating children against the disease.
“Herd immunity against Covid-19 is the prerequisite to end this pandemic, either through vaccinations or natural infection,” Prof Bin said in a linked comment.
“Most estimates placed the threshold at 65-70 per cent of the population gaining immunity, mainly by vaccination.
"However, widely circulating virus variants and persistent hesitancy on vaccine make this threshold difficult to reach.
"The calculation has to be revised upward and children must be covered in the immunisation campaign.”
All participants who received six micrograms of vaccine across two doses developed antibodies, the study found.
The children involved in the trial will be followed for at least another year to study the long-term effects.
In numbers
- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100
- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100
- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India
- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100
- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 4 (Mount 18',Werner 44', Hudson-Odoi 49', Havertz 85')
Morecambe 0
MATCH INFO
Uefa Nations League
League A, Group 4
Spain v England, 10.45pm (UAE)
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
