SINGAPORE — The hospitalisation rate for children under five years old who are infected with Covid-19 is 5.2 per cent, higher than the rate for older children.

For those aged five to 11, the hospitalisation rate is 1.3 per cent among children who are not vaccinated and about 0.4 per cent for those who have received the jab.

Associate Kenneth Mak said that based on these figures, the vaccine that will be offered to young children aged between six months and five years old will be beneficial and reduce the risk of a severe infection.

The director of medical services at the Ministry of Health (MOH) was speaking on Wednesday (Aug 24) at a press conference by the Government's Covid-19 task force.

The Health Sciences Authority has extended the authorisation of Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine to children, including those aged six months up to five years old. 

A decision on the recommendation for vaccination of this age group is expected soon.

"The vaccine will be administered as a course of two 25 microgram doses, which is a reduced dose formulation compared to that offered in older age groups," Assoc Prof Mak said.

At the same press conference, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung pointed out that a trial conducted using the Moderna vaccine involving 6,000 children showed that the incidence of severe adverse reactions has been "very low".

The results of the trial showed zero cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and anaphylaxis (a serious, life-threatening allergic reaction), and one case of febrile convulsion (seizures that occur in very young children when they have a high fever) likely related to the vaccine, Mr Ong added.

Although young children infected with Covid-19 do not generally become seriously ill, some below the age of five have experienced severely adverse medical reactions. 

Two young children, an 18-month-old boy and a four-year-old girl, died in June and July respectively.

MOH said on Wednesday that the expert committee on Covid-19 vaccination now recommends that children aged five to 11 take their first booster dose — or third dose — of the Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) vaccine from five months after the second dose of their primary vaccination series.

The ministry has accepted the committee’s recommendations in full and is preparing to offer vaccine boosters to children in the fourth quarter of this year, likely when examinations in primary schools have ended or are close to ending.

SOME PARENTS CAUTIOUS, OTHERS LESS SO

Some parents who spoke to TODAY, however, said that they will not rush to vaccinate their young children.

Mr Tono Kiroshita, the chief executive officer of an info-technology company, expressed his reservations about immunising his three-year-old daughter.

“The vaccine is still very new. I would not rush to do it at the end of the year,” he said.

Stay-at-home mother Zainab Mohamed Jalil, 31, has similar concerns.

“If the side effects are as typical and short term such as fever, rashes or minor swelling just like any other children's vaccine, it’s manageable.

"However, I still do have my concerns on whether these vaccines will affect my son in any physical growth or learning disorders and I would like further research done on this,” she said.

On the other hand, there are others such as housewife Mary Jean Gilbuena who are eagerly looking forward to the vaccines. 

The 30-year-old said that she would like her young nephew, whom she looks after, to be inoculated. 

Even though she may be slightly worried about the possible side effects, her view was that the children's bodies will get stronger when given a chance to battle and overcome the side effects.

Cleaning supervisor Lim Hui Hock, 52, also believes that these side effects are part of developing resilience. 

“Children are expected to go through mild illnesses, even without Covid-19. But what we need to see is that they become immune after vaccination,” the father of a four-year-old girl said.