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The multi-system inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19, PIMS for short, is something many parents fear. It only affects children. Some parents, fearing that PIMS may be triggered by coronavirus vaccines, opt out of enrolling their child for an injection. Is it right?
- PIMS is, in a sense, an abnormal response of the immune system as a result of COVID-19 infection
- The most common symptoms of PIMS in children are fever, diarrhea, changes in the tongue and conjunctivitis
- To date, several hundred cases of PIMS in children have been reported in Poland
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
– PIMS is a multi-system inflammatory syndrome associated with COVID-19. It occurs when the virus is no longer in the body, but under its influence, an autoimmune cross-reaction occurs. These patients have high CRP, ESR, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia (reduced number of white blood cells) – explains Dr. Paweł Grzesiowski, expert of the Supreme Medical Council for combating COVID-19.
Specialists reassure: after the COVID-19 vaccine, no cases of PIMS in children have been reported so far!
- Check also: Why Poles do not want to vaccinate? The social psychologist answers
At the end of last year, specialists from the US government agency FDA (regulating the food and drug market) developed a working list of serious side effects, the occurrence of which should be strictly supervised after receiving the vaccine. Some of them were placed there because of experience with other vaccines (e.g. anaphylactic shock), others appeared on this list because they belonged to the recognized clinically significant complications of COVID-19. PIMS was among the listed side effects. However, that was in October 2020 and it was indicated then that the list is working and subject to change.
Today we know a lot more about it.
– PIMS is the result of an abnormal immune response triggered by SARS-CoV-2 infection, the results of which, usually severe, appear 2 – 4 weeks after infection. The exact mechanism of PIMS is unknown. We know, however, that the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses a number of mechanisms to get into cells, replicate in them, and spread. It can get beyond the respiratory system, hit, among others, to various organs of the digestive system, the heart muscle, to the central nervous system. Hence, its presence causes complex, often violent reactions of the immune system, and sometimes leads to autoimmune conditions – explains Dr. Piotr Rzymski, a medical biologist from the Medical University of Poznań.
The rest of the text is below the video.
As a consolation, let us add that PIMS is quite rare in children (so far several hundred cases have been found in Poland). Nevertheless, it is worth knowing its symptoms so that you can react quickly if it occurs.
PIMS symptoms in children – pay attention to that
PIMS presents with a high fever and the following possible symptoms:
- stomach pain (sometimes very severe), diarrhea, vomiting
- rash – it can appear anywhere on the body and look different, usually pink spots and sometimes looking like rings
- conjunctivitis (the whites of the eyes become bloodshot)
- red, chapped lips (they look licked in the cold)
- changes on the tongue – the color becomes vivid red and small spots appear on its surface
- swelling of the hands and feet
- significant weakening
- enlarged lymph nodes
- headache
- sore throat.
When it comes to vaccinations against COVID-19, experts remind that they only expose the body to a fragment of the coronavirus – the so-called spike protein.
– This protein, after “showing itself” to cells of the immune system, disappears from our body, does not circulate around our body to infect cells and continue to multiply. Hence, it is difficult for a person to visualize the biological mechanism by which it could cause PIMS. There is also no evidence from clinical trials that children get PIMS vaccinated against COVID-19, explains Piotr Rzymski.
- Editors recommend: Third dose for everyone? Expert: It’s complicated
Adverse vaccine reactions in children. These are the most common
The most common side effects after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in children 12-15 years of age are similar to those in people aged 16 and over. They therefore mainly include injection site pain, fatigue, headache, muscle and joint pain, chills and fever. These effects are usually mild to moderate and disappear within a few days of vaccination. PIMS is not among them!
Finally, it is worth recalling that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has confirmed that the benefits of using the Comirnata (Pfizer) vaccine in adolescents aged 12+ outweigh its risks.
Have you been infected with COVID-19 and are worried about the side effects? Check your health by performing a comprehensive test package for convalescents.
Source: Monika Wysocka, Zdrowie.pap.pl
Also read:
- This is how the coronavirus works on the intestines. Pocovid irritable bowel syndrome. Symptoms
- The doctor assesses the vaccination campaign in Poland: we have failed. And he gives two main reasons
- Vaccination against COVID-19 increases the risk of a heart attack. True or false?
- How much risk are the unvaccinated against COVID-19? The CDC is straightforward
- Disturbing symptoms in convalescents. What to pay attention to, what to do? Doctors created a guide
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