After careful evaluation of new scientific observations and data, the assessment came to the conclusion that “according to the current state of knowledge, the advantages of vaccination outweigh the risk of very rare vaccine side effects”, the panel announced on Monday and referred to a draft resolution. The official recommendation text is not yet available, changes are still possible in a coordination process with the 16 German federal states and specialist groups. The recommendations of the Stiko serve as a template for the federal states for their public vaccination recommendations.
In the past few weeks, the Stiko had repeatedly been asked by various politicians to reconsider its cautious stance on vaccinating children and adolescents from the age of twelve. So far, the committee has recommended immunization in the age group above all to those who have certain pre-existing conditions such as obesity or chronic lung diseases – or people with a particular corona risk in their environment.
In the meantime, possible risks of vaccination in the age group could be assessed more reliably, said the panel. It pointed to nearly ten million vaccinated children and adolescents in the American vaccination program. Stiko boss Thomas Mertens recently justified the previous reluctance with insufficient data on the safety of vaccination in adolescents. The main focus was on the possible consequences of myocardial inflammation in vaccinated people. On Monday, the Stiko spoke of mostly uncomplicated processes.
In the past few weeks, the Stiko had repeatedly been asked by various politicians to reconsider its cautious stance on vaccinating children and adolescents from the age of twelve. So far, the committee has recommended immunization in the age group above all to those who have certain pre-existing conditions such as obesity or chronic lung diseases – or people with a particular corona risk in their environment.
Even without a general recommendation, vaccinations have already been possible for healthy people in the age group – “after medical advice and with individual request and risk acceptance”. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Monday, 24.3 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds have been vaccinated against corona at least once and 15.1 percent have been completely vaccinated.
At the beginning of August, the federal and state health ministers had already agreed on broader offers for children from the age of twelve – for corona protection when starting school after the summer holidays. With the preparations from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, two mRNA vaccines have been approved for this group in the EU. No vaccine is currently available for children under the age of twelve.