STIKO now also recommends a corona vaccination for healthy children between the ages of five and eleven. However, the President of the German Medical Association does not see the need, even if he recognizes the protective character of the vaccination.
Unlike specialist societies in pediatric medicine, the President of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, was more cautious about the new STIKO recommendation for corona vaccination for five to eleven year olds. “It’s a recommendation that is put into the behavior of the parents.” He personally would be “rather cautious” at the moment, said Reinhardt in an interview with Radiowelt on Bayern 2. He justified this by saying that the disease “is usually easy for children to survive” and “essentially without it Late consequences, as far as one can assess that at this point in time”.
Reinhardt also said that everyone had to decide for themselves. The offer is there and the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) recommends it. That means “vaccination is recommended and has a protective character”.
In its current assessment, STIKO now also recommends a corona vaccination for healthy children between the ages of five and eleven – previously this only applied to children with previous illnesses and to children with people at high risk of corona in their environment. In contrast to the vaccination schedule in other groups, healthy children should initially only receive one mRNA vaccine dose, according to a statement by the committee on Tuesday.
The scientific specialist societies for paediatrics and youth medicine and the professional association of paediatricians welcomed and expressly supported the new STIKO recommendation in a joint statement. Jörg Dötsch, President of the German Society for Child and Adolescent Medicine (DGKJ), spoke of a “good and well-considered decision by STIKO in the direction of the individual protection of children”. Dötsch did not want children to be vaccinated as a measure primarily aimed at increasing the general vaccination rate. “Of course, individual protection is paramount. If many people protect themselves individually, it also protects the group as a whole, including the group of children, that’s clear.”