Children prevously infected with COVID-19 wil benefit from a vaccine --experts

Even if lots of children have had Covid, they’ll still benefit from the vaccine, experts say

A startling statistic emerged as advisers to the Food and Drug Administration debated use of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in ages 5 to 11 last week. According to one federal scientist, by June an estimated 42 percent of these children had already been infected with the coronavirus.

That figure was much higher than anyone expected. But the estimate, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, might have overstated the percentage of children who were infected, several experts said in interviews. Among other flaws, the percentage was based on tests known to have a high rate of “false positives” — signaling the presence of antibodies where there were none.

And even if unexpectedly high numbers of children have been infected, parents should not assume that they are shielded from the virus and don’t need the vaccine. Immunization will cement that protection now and against future virus variants, said Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania.

“The data are clear that even if they had been exposed in the past that they would benefit from the vaccine,” he said, speaking of children. “The risks of vaccination are very low, whereas the benefits are appreciable.”

All of the evidence so far indicates that the vaccines are far safer than a bout of Covid, even for children.

For example, although the vaccines have been associated with the rare chance of myocarditis, inflammation of the heart, in young men, the symptoms have quickly resolved in most of them. Covid is much more likely to cause myocarditis, and a much more severe version....

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Are 42 percent of younger children really immune to the coronavirus?

Most likely, no. The C.D.C. estimate was based on tests of a small number of children who had blood drawn for routine medical care or other illnesses. That is not a representative sample of the general population, said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University.

For example, the sample may have included children who have cancer or other conditions that weaken the immune system. “Usually, kids don’t get blood drawn for any routine medical care unless they have some reason to,” Dr. Iwasaki said. ...