Photo/Illutration The COVID-19 vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old manufactured by Pfizer Inc. (Provided by Pfizer Inc.)

Although not mandatory, a COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years became available on Oct. 24 in Japan, which is highly recommended by the Japan Pediatric Association.

The government has deemed that the “duty of effort” rule defined under the Immunization Law applies to  COVID-19 vaccination for children in that age range.

Pediatricians are stressing the importance of receiving the vaccine as cases of children without underlying conditions developing severe symptoms of COVID-19 have been reported.

“Although it’s usually children’s parents or guardians who decide if they should get the COVID-19 vaccine, we highly recommend that they do so,” said Mahito Mine, executive director of the Japan Pediatric Association.

Under the law, duty of effort means people eligible for the vaccine are required to try to receive the vaccine.

However, this doesn’t mean they must get the vaccine.

The rule effectively means children will receive the COVID-19 vaccine if they or their parents or guardians decide that they should get the jab.

This duty of effort rule is also applied to COVID-19 vaccinations for children between the ages of 5 and 11.

The rule was not applied to such children when inoculating got under way in March.

However, it was applied to them in September after experts decided that the COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the Omicron variant.

This decision led to the application of the rule to children between 6 months and 4 years.

Cases of children developing acute encephalopathy or other severe conditions after contracting the novel coronavirus have been reported.

However, it might be difficult for children’s parents or guardians to find the proper timing for the COVID-19 vaccine as there are other vaccinations children should get.

Particularly, children between 6 months and 1 year are required to get many regular vaccinations such as the DPT-IPV (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio) vaccine, or those against measles or rubella.

Experts warn about a possible concurrent spread of COVID-19 and influenza this winter.

People are allowed to get flu and COVID-19 vaccines at the same time, but they are generally advised to wait two weeks after receiving a vaccine before having another one.

“One way to go about this is to focus on vaccines the child has never gotten and the ones that target disease they are not immune enough to, such as the COVID-19 vaccine,” Mine said.

He said children are allowed to start getting vaccinated against diseases other than COVID-19 from the age of 2 months.

Mine added that children are regarded as having some immunity to those diseases if they have received a vaccine two or three times.

Therefore, he said, the timing for additional vaccines for those diseases can be delayed.

“There are many factors to take into consideration to decide the timing of vaccinations, such as the child’s history of illness or health conditions,” Mine said. “I would like (their parents and guardians) to consult with their family pediatricians (to decide on the timing).”

(This article was written by Mirei Jinguji and Yuichiro Yoneda.)

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