WASHINGTON — Verify is all about bringing you information from trusted sources; so when our researchers saw a flurry of tweets and posts claiming that the World Health Organization said children shouldn't get the COVID vaccine, we took notice.
In mid-June, a screenshot of what appeared to be the WHO's website began popping up online and has been shared by hundreds of people. In it reads this statement in bold:
"Children should not be vaccinated for the the moment. There is not yet enough evidence on the use of vaccines against COVID-19 in children to make recommendations for children to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Children and adolescents tend to have milder disease compared to adults. However, children should continue to have the recommended childhood vaccines."
THE QUESTION
Did the World Health Organization really advise against children getting the COVID-19 vaccines?
THE SOURCES
- World Health Organization spokesperson
- Internet Archive WayBack Machine - June 21
THE ANSWER
Yes, but more context is needed. That was before the vaccines were deemed safe for children, and it took a few more days until the WHO website reflected the change.
WHAT WE FOUND
Using the Internet Archive, our Verify researchers were able to fact-check that yes, the WHO did advise that quote, “Children should not be vaccinated for the moment."
That phrase appears in screengrabs captured from April 8 through June 21, 2021.
But that’s not the full picture; a World Health Organization spokesperson gave us the context.
They said they included that statement because it wasn't until June 15th that a WHO committee, called the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), determined that the Pfizer vaccine could be used in children younger than 16.
"Now, some children - those who are at high risk of severe COVID-19 - would be recommended for vaccination against COVID-19, although this is only currently possible with the Pfizer vaccine in over 12s, so the statement was taken out," a WHO spokesperson said via email.
According to the Internet Archive and WHO, it took a couple days until the page was updated with that recommendation.
As of June 30, 2021, their website includes this note in the upper right corner: "English version last updated on 22 June 2021 to reflect 15 June 2021 SAGE interim recommendations on the Pfizer/BionTech COVID-19 vaccine."
However, WHO still maintains that generally, children remain low-risk for severe COVID.
“The overarching point remains that healthy children are not a priority group for vaccination when supplies are limited and should go to those at highest risk to keep hospitalisations and incidences of severe disease as low as possible,” a WHO spokesperson said.
On May 14, four days after the U.S. FDA authorized the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in 12-15-year-olds, the WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made an appeal to wealthier countries.
"I understand why some countries want to vaccinate their children and adolescents, but right now I urge them to reconsider and to instead donate vaccines to COVAX," he said. "Because in low and lower-middle income countries, vaccine supply has not been enough to even immunize health and care workers, and hospitals are being inundated with people that need lifesaving care urgently."
WHO's Director-General continues to maintain that those who are most at-risk for the virus should get priority access to the vaccines.
"The global failure to share vaccines equitably is fuelling a two-track pandemic that is now taking its toll on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people," Ghebreyesus said in a video he tweeted June 18.
So we can Verify, yes, the World Health Organization did say that children should hold off from vaccination. However, that was before it deemed vaccines safe for children, and it took a few more days until its website reflected the change.