Corona policy
State Minister of Health for rapid child vaccinations
A boy in the United States squints during his vaccination. Now the EMA could also recommend the vaccine. Photo: Keith Birmingham / The Orange County Register via AP / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The Standing Vaccination Commission should give a quick vaccination recommendation for five to eleven year olds. That is what the health ministers of the federal states are calling for. You prepare for it with «vaccination routes».
The health ministers of the federal states are speeding up the corona vaccinations for children.
In a unanimous decision, they call on the EU Commission to deliver vaccines earlier – and ask the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) for a “very prompt” recommendation for child vaccinations. In all countries “immediately” offers for child vaccinations, such as special vaccination routes, are to be set up.
It is welcomed that the European Medicines Agency EMA has now approved a corona vaccine for five to eleven year olds, said Bavaria’s head of department Klaus Holetschek (CSU) on Monday after a switching conference of the federal and state health ministers in Munich. Now you are calling on the EU Commission to make the vaccine available faster than on December 20th – this is the date mentioned so far. “We hope that this can be brought forward so that we can start the vaccinations even faster.”
Vaccination routes
The Conference of Health Ministers (GMK) also agreed that children and family vaccination routes should be set up everywhere so that they could start immediately when the vaccine was available, said Holetschek, the current GMK chairman.
In addition, the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) is asked to make a recommendation as soon as possible, “as quickly as they can”. “We don’t want to build up any pressure,” said Holetschek. “We know, however, that it would be important that we actually get a signal from the Standing Vaccination Commission as soon as possible, especially when it comes to these sensitive vaccinations.” The Stiko had recently announced that it would make a recommendation by the time the children’s vaccine was delivered, if possible.
Last Thursday, the EMA gave the green light for the approval of the preparation from Biontech / Pfizer (Comirnaty) also for the group of five to eleven year olds – but in a lower dose: Smaller children only get a third of the dose injected compared to the age group of twelve and over , so 10 instead of 30 micrograms.
Apart from that, doctors in private practice are already in a position to vaccinate children after individual advice, said Holetschek, but emphasized: “It is a so-called off-label use.” The children’s vaccine is only covered by the EMA approval in the doses in which it is then delivered.
If children are to be vaccinated now, the vaccine that is already available must be portioned by the doctor as in the approval study.
The resolution of the state ministers states that children between the ages of five and eleven should be vaccinated until the child’s vaccines are delivered “on one’s own responsibility and decision and after individual advice from the resident doctor (off-label use)” . And further: The Infection Protection Act allows “in this case no liability by the federal government”.