COVID Update
Dear families,
Recent weeks have seen COVID cases peak in the Western Australian community, as expected. We have spoken to many families with a child who has tested positive, and have been working closely with the Covid Care at Home Program based at Perth Children’s Hospital to provide extra medical support.
We hope those who have interacted with this service have found the support helpful and reassuring. As we hoped, most children are doing quite well, recovering at home with a Covid infection, and fortunately very few youth with diabetes and a Covid infection have needed to come to hospital. This is a testament to the high rate of vaccination in our diabetes community, the excellent job families are doing supporting youth at home with implementing their sick day diabetes management plans, and that youth with diabetes, in general, fight Covid strongly and well.
We know families are managing as best they can, and we continue to recommend completing the full course of Covid vaccination, including boosters for those aged 16 and up, if this hasn’t occurred yet.
Some families have reported that their child or adolescent has tested positive between the first and second vaccination, or before a booster can be given, and wonder if they should complete the vaccination course.
ATAGI has updated advice about when people who have had the COVID-19 infection should receive a subsequent COVID-19 vaccine dose.
It is now recommended that all people should wait for 3 months after confirmed COVID-19 infection before they receive their next COVID-19 vaccine dose. The next scheduled dose should then be given as soon as possible after this period.
Waiting for a 3-month period after infection before COVID-19 vaccination is intended to optimise protection for that person, as a longer gap between infection and vaccination is likely to lead to a better immune response and result in longer protection from reinfection.
This change in recommendation applies to all people eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccination (i.e. from 5 years and above), regardless of how many COVID-19 vaccine doses they have received.
It does not apply to other vaccines (for example, influenza vaccinations) which can continue to be administered as usual.
First published Tuesday 10 May 2022.