Corona vaccinations for children: the right decision

If parents may have to decide soon whether to get their child vaccinated against the coronavirus, the benefits outweigh the benefits. Because in the end, both the child and the common good will be protected.

It won’t be an easy decision for parents. Should they have their children under 12 vaccinated against Covid-19? Provided, of course, that the study data convince the experts of the European Medicines Agency as much as their US colleagues and that the vaccination is approved.

It is not certain whether the Standing Vaccination Commission will recommend them. Nevertheless, it is already clear to me: the advantages of a vaccination for children outweigh the disadvantages. Sure: Younger children benefit less from a vaccination against Covid19 than from a vaccination against measles. Because they rarely get seriously ill. And only a few suffer from long covid.

Vaccination helps to keep daycare centers and schools open

Nevertheless, the prick is also useful for children. They are protected and they no longer have to be quarantined if they have come into contact with infected people. The child vaccination therefore helps to ensure that daycare centers and schools can remain open. We saw how important this is in the first lockdown. The smaller the children are, the more they suffer when they can no longer study and play with their peers.

In addition, vaccination for children can interrupt chains of infection. The tricky thing is that the little ones get infected, but have no symptoms – and happily pass the virus on. Vaccinated children can protect many people. In a pandemic, the well-being of the community also counts and not just that of each individual, I think. Parents should keep this in mind when they have to make decisions about their child in the near future.