Permanent vaccination committee: Booster vaccinations also for 12 to 17 year olds

According to the Standing Vaccination Commission, 12 to 17-year-olds should also receive a Corona booster vaccination. Omikron make an expansion of the vaccination campaign necessary. Health Minister Lauterbach welcomed the move.

The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) has generally advocated a Corona booster vaccination for children and adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. The committee recommends a so-called booster vaccination for this age group with the mRNA vaccine Comirnaty from BioNTech / Pfizer “in the age-appropriate dosage” and at least three months after the previous vaccination, announced the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

The draft resolution of the recommendation now has to go through what is known as an opinion procedure with the federal states and the specialist groups involved, so it is not yet a final recommendation.

Risk of serious vaccine side effects “very low”

The current situation with the sharply increasing number of cases due to the Omikron variant make a corresponding expansion of the vaccination campaign necessary, it said. “With a booster vaccination – third vaccination – the vaccination protection is improved again and the probability of transmission of Sars-CoV-2 infections is reduced,” wrote the STIKO. The risk of serious side effects of the vaccination is “very low”.

For adolescents who have received a dose of the single vaccine from Johnson & Johnson as their first vaccination, the STIKO recommends a second vaccination with an mRNA vaccine such as BioNTech – and then a booster vaccination after at least three months.

Lauterbach welcomes the decision of the STIKO

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach welcomed the recommendation: “Now all young people and their parents can be certain: Boosters are also recommended for 12 to 17-year-olds.” Lauterbach asked the STIKO to draw up a recommendation for booster vaccinations for young people. “It’s good that the vaccination commission reacted so quickly,” he said.

The STIKO is an independent body. She develops vaccination recommendations and looks at the benefits for the individual and the entire population. To do this, the experts evaluate international data and studies. The recommendations are considered a medical standard, as stated on the STIKO website.