"Between Jan 25, 2020 and March 6, 2022, there were a total of 748,037 cases involving those below 18 years old."There were 157 fatalities due to Covid-19 among those 18 and below, 39 of which were children aged five to 11 years"he said in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday .
He added that there had been an increase in Covid-19 infections among the young after schools reopened earlier this year."As of March 5, there has been a drastic increase in Covid-19 infections among those aged below 12, with 123,053 confirmed cases since January this year," he said.
On adverse events following immunisation , he said that only 94 cases were reported as of Feb 25 involving those aged five to 11 or 0.1% out of 1,000 doses administered."Most common reports of AEFI are fever, stress due to the injection, rashes, dizziness and headaches," he said, adding that investigations were still being carried out with the two serious cases.
Dr Noor Azmi noted that real-world data on the use of Comirnaty vaccine for five- to 11-year-olds showed that the risk of myocarditis was very low. He said the Comirnaty vaccine, specifically formulated for young children, was approved for use by authorities here on Jan 6.Article type: metered