Status: 10/19/2022 7:26 p.m
The European Medicines Agency recommends vaccinating babies and young children between the ages of six months and five years against the coronavirus. However, the vaccine doses for this age group should be lower.
From the point of view of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), babies and small children should also be able to be vaccinated against the corona virus in the future. The authority has now made a recommendation for vaccination from the age of six months.
According to the EMA, children between the ages of six months and four years should be vaccinated with the vaccine Comirnaty from the manufacturers BioNTech and Pfizer. The vaccine Spikevax from the company Moderna also received a recommendation for the age group between six months and five years.
According to the Reuters news agency, when vaccinating these young age groups, the EU authority advocates giving lower doses of vaccine than older children or adults. The EMA emphasized that the benefits of protection through a corona vaccination outweigh the possible risks.
Now the EU Commission still has to approve the approval of the two vaccines for children from the age of six months.
So far, STIKO recommends vaccination from the age of five
The Standing Vaccination Committee of the Robert Koch Institute has so far advised children from the age of five to be vaccinated against the corona virus. The committee made the corresponding recommendation at the end of May this year. Children between the ages of five and eleven who do not suffer from any previous illnesses or are exposed to higher risks as a result of vaccination due to other factors are initially recommended only one vaccination dose. The RKI also advocates the Comirnaty or Spikevax vaccines for this basic immunization. After being informed by a doctor, children in this age group can also receive a complete basic immunization, i.e. two vaccine doses.
In the event that relatives of children between five and eleven years of age are at high risk of a severe course of the disease as a result of a corona infection, the RKI advises complete basic immunization of the children. For children who are themselves at such a high risk, STIKO also recommends a booster vaccination.
Recommended in the USA since June
In the USA, the competent authority, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), recommended vaccination for children from the age of six months around four months ago – also with the active ingredients from BioNTech/Pfizer or Moderna.
The authority justified its decision with the then strong spread of the omicron variant of the virus. With the vaccination, the risk of a serious illness in the event of an infection should be kept as low as possible, even in small children.