Effectiveness of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and BBIBP-CorV vaccines against infection and mortality in children in Argentina

Co-chair: Professor Azeem Majeed (@Azeem_Majeed)

Professor of Primary Care & Public Health, and Head of Department of Primary Care & Public Health, Imperial College London

*Read the summary of this event.*

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Email: a.majeed@imperial.ac.uk

Azeem Majeed is Professor of Primary Care and Public Health and Head of the Department of Primary Care and Public Health at Imperial College London. He is an NIHR Senior Investigator and Director of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration NW London. At Imperial College, Azeem leads a flourishing academic department with around 150 staff. In the most recent UK University Research Excellence Framework results (published in 2022), Imperial College London was the highest ranked university in the UK for the quality of research in the “Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care” unit of assessment. Azeem has an international reputation for research in primary care and public health. He is the highest cited researcher globally in the primary care category on Google Scholar with an H-Index of 128. He was one of the Imperial College London Team awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Research in 2021 for work on the UK’s response to Covid-19. Azeem continues to work as an NHS GP and a Consultant in Public Health.

Azeem’s research interests are in the management of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This includes local, national and international work on the prevention, early diagnosis and optimal management of long-term conditions. Azeem’s other areas of research include health policy and the organisation and delivery of health care; the use of information for policy, planning and research; and the use of new technology to improve health care. Azeem is the Co-Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training at Imperial College. Azeem is Course Chairman of the Imperial College Master of Public Health (MPH) Programme and also oversees the award-winning undergraduate primary care and public health teaching on the medical course at Imperial College London. He is a strong advocate for health equity and quality improvement in healthcare. His team has a wide range of work on societal engagement; for example, working with local schools to support children from deprived backgrounds enter the health professions, addressing vaccine hesitancy, and improving confidence and uptake of vaccination in marginalised groups.

Article

The paper to be discussed is: Effectiveness of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and BBIBP-CorV vaccines against infection and mortality in children in Argentina, during predominance of delta and omicron covid-19 variants: test negative, case-control study. Juan Manuel Castelli, Analia Rearte, Santiago Olszevicki, Carla Voto, María Del Valle Juarez, Martina Pesce, Agustina Natalia Iovane, Mercedes Paz, María Eugenia Chaparro, Maria Pia Buyayisqui, María Belén Markiewicz, Mariana Landoni, Carlos María Giovacchini, Carla Vizzotti. BMJ. November 2022. 

Discussion questions

• What are the risks to children from Covid-19 and how does this compare to the risk in older age groups?
• What are the risks and benefits of Covid-19 vaccination in children? For example, how well does vaccination protect against infection and acute illness; and against serious outcomes such as hospitalisation and death? How concerned should we be about myocarditis?
• The UK’s JCVI approved Covid-19 vaccination in children for a time-limited period? Should this decision be reconsidered?
• Why was uptake of Covid-19 vaccination so low in children in the UK after vaccination started in this group? What can be done to improve vaccine uptake both for Covid-19 vaccines and also other childhood vaccines?