Vaccine for children in Germany: Recommendation to vaccinate 12-17 year olds with underlying diseases

The German Committee for Vaccination (Stiko) has recommended that only children and adolescents aged 12-17 with pre-existing health problems, which make them particularly vulnerable, be vaccinated against coronavirus.

The Commission, which simply has an advisory role in government decisions, recommends vaccine of BioNTech / Pfizer, which a few days ago received an emergency license from the European Medicines Agency for the population aged 12-15, It should be used only in children and adolescents who are at risk of developing Covid-19 due to underlying diseases.

However, as of June 7, the government has abolished the priority of immunization, allowing everyone, from the age of 12, to schedule their vaccination. According to the latest guideline of the Robert Koch Institute, healthy people in this age group can be vaccinated if they are informed about the risks by their family doctor.

“The issue is the weighting of the benefit and the potential risks,” Stiko president Thomas Mertens told the German News Agency (dpa), adding that the effectiveness of the vaccine at these ages is unquestionable but relatively small. club children and adolescents in whom it has been tested – only for two months – can not completely rule out possible serious side effects. In addition, Mertens said, the risk of serious illness from Covid-19 is very low.

Vaccine in children: What are the underlying diseases

Among the underlying aggravating ailments that the Commission recommendation is obesity, chronic renal failure, immunosuppression, chronic lung disease, heart problems and diabetes. In addition, the vaccination recommendation includes children and adolescents living close to people who are at high risk of serious complications if they become infected with the new vaccine. coronavirus.

The member of the Board of Directors of the German Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Markus Knouf, considers for the time being justified Stiko’s cautious attitude regarding the vaccination of children and adolescents, says the APE-MPE correspondent. “I see it as a call for more data to be collected,” Knouf told a news conference yesterday, but stressed that children could not be left unprotected on the pretext that they “do not get sick” or “pass the disease too much”. slightly “.

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