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Children’s version of COVID vaccination calculator released
While vaccine coverage for 5–11-year-olds remains low, the updated CoRiCal tool could help boost uptake among the cohort.
The updated CoRiCal tool for children is aimed to provide ‘a stable and reliable stream of information’ around vaccination.
To help address vaccine hesitancy and boost vaccination rates, the Immunisation Coalition launched its COVID-19 Risk Calculator (CoRiCal) in October 2021.
It worked to support adults in making an informed choice based on their current circumstances by presenting the risks and benefits of the vaccines on offer.
Fast forward 18 months and there is now a children’s version of CoRiCal available, with the update helping parents to make the risk-benefit assessment for their children’s circumstances.
The latest update to the online tool builds on a collaboration between the Immunisation Coalition, the University of Queensland (UQ), Queensland University of Technology, Sydney University and Flinders University, with the aim to better inform parents on vaccination with access to the latest information and in turn, help to boost vaccination rates among the paediatric cohort.
CoRiCal co-lead, Flinders University Associate Professor John Litt told newsGP he expects the updated tool will also provide GPs with better support.
‘It should save GPs some time, as many patients could look at it before seeing the GP,’ he said.
‘Also, it will help the GP and parent to focus on what might worry them about the vaccine. It is a decision-making tool, so the final decision is made by the parent.’
With the winter months approaching and children’s COVID vaccine coverage across Australia remaining ‘static’, Associate Professor Litt said the updated tool comes at an important time.
‘In particular, we’ve observed a very low vaccine uptake in children aged 5–11, with only a 10% increase in the last six months,’ he said.
The Department of Health and Aged Care’s national immunisation coverage for five-year-olds missed the target of 95% for the December 2022 quarterly report.
COVID-19 vaccination coverage rates from September 2022 show that 51.3% of children aged 5–11 had received their first dose, and 40.4% their second.
Anxiety about potential adverse events, especially for ‘relatively new’ COVID-19 vaccines, may lead to hesitancy to receive first or subsequent doses, according to Associate Professor Litt, who said CoRiCal should help to ease these concerns.
‘It is … crucial that decisions are informed by transparent risk-benefit analysis and effective risk communication, ensuring higher vaccine uptake in children – especially as we enter the winter months,’ he said.
‘We hope the CoRiCal tool for children will provide a stable and reliable stream of information, without the risk of being misinformed or misled.’
UQ virologist and CoRiCal co-lead Dr Kirsty Short agrees.
She says a significant challenge for parents and healthcare providers since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines has been a lack of access to the latest evidence regarding risks versus benefits, or illness and deaths prevented, in children.
‘There is a lot of misinformation online about COVID-19 and vaccinations, so this calculator plays a critical role by providing tailored, evidence-based information in a convenient way,’ Dr Short said.
Meanwhile, Associate Professor Litt noted that the updated calculator also provides reassurance around the ‘feared adverse effect’ of myocarditis, with evidence that it is much lower following an mRNA COVID vaccine than after getting COVID.
‘Given that more than 60% of children have had COVID, giving the COVID vaccine will enhance their immunity and provide protection for children that haven’t had COVID,’ he said.
The updated risk calculations on CoRiCal are based on a framework that allows researchers to update information as new evidence becomes available.
Lead designer, infectious diseases registrar Dr Tej Shukla, said the tool ‘streamlines and summarises large amounts of information and stores it in one reliable place’.
The March 2023 CoRiCal update adds to previous data additions to the online calculator, including benefits of booster shots and risk of death from the Omicron variant, and myocarditis risk from COVID vaccines.
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