Europe ramped up vaccinations of 5 to 11-year-olds against Covid-19 on Wednesday, as the EU’s health body warned that vaccinations alone would not prevent a rapid rise in the virus. Omicron body of the virus.
Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary and Spain are among those that are expanding the direction of childhood immunization, while other countries are still weighing their approaches.
At the Principe de Asturias Hospital in Alcala de Henares near Madrid, nurses wearing Christmas velvet headbands greet children and apply stickers to them after injections.
“It just hurts a little bit,” said Magdalena Lazo Vitoria, 11, as she left the vaccination center with a plaster on her left shoulder.
“I’m not worried because I’ve wanted to get vaccinated for a long time, so I’m really happy.”
The push is given renewed urgency by the rapid spread of the heavily mutated variant of Omicron, which EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned could dominate Europe by mid-January.
Even as children line up to be injected, EU health agency ECDC says measures such as wearing masks, teleworking and preventing crowds are essential to reduce the burden on the healthcare system. health in the time available, the vaccine alone took too long.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he hopes his country, which already has one of Europe’s highest Covid-19 vaccination rates, will become “an example to the world” with its vaccination campaign. Vaccination for children 5 to 11 years old.
The country has about 3.3 million children in that age group.
Lower dose
Doctors across Europe say initial demand is strong from parents.
Jakob Maske, a doctor in Berlin and a spokesman for the German association of pediatricians, said: “As soon as we gave the vaccination appointments, they did very well.
The German STIKO vaccine commission has officially only recommended vaccination for children with pre-existing medical conditions, but even healthy children will be vaccinated if their parents ask for it.
Some German cities plan to administer vaccinations for children in museums and zoos, while others are considering mobile vaccination teams outside schools.
But like other countries, Germany is also grappling with an anti-vaccination campaign and on Wednesday saw police in the eastern city of Dresden sweep up death threats against chancellor Michael. Kretschmer of Saxony.
While serious illness and death from Covid in children are rare, those infected can pass the virus on to others at higher risk of serious illness, such as the elderly.
The EU’s drug watchdog last month approved the injection of Pfizer-BioNTech for children aged 5 to 11, an age group with high rates of coronavirus infection across the continent.
The vaccine is used in a lower dose than Pfizer injection for children over 12 years of age and comes in a children’s vial with an orange cap to distinguish it from the older purple-capped vial.
Stricter restrictions
Denmark, which has seen an increase in cases attributed to the new variant of Omicron, and some areas of Austria began offering the shots to younger children in November.
The United States was the first major country to adopt this measure and has so far vaccinated more than 5 million children aged 5-11.
The impetus to vaccinate children comes as several European countries tighten virus restrictions, with Poland imposing limits on the number of people allowed into restaurants, hotels and theatres.
Italy from Thursday will tighten restrictions on visitors from the rest of the EU, requiring coronavirus testing for all visitors, while Greece announced a similar measure effective from Sunday. .
Several European countries will roll out childhood vaccinations in the coming days, including Italy, Portugal, Poland, the Baltic countries and the Czech Republic, while others are still finalizing their plans. their plan.
In France, the vaccination has only been approved for children aged 5 to 11 at risk of serious illness, but the government has said it is considering expanding it to all children on a voluntary basis.
Belgium is awaiting the recommendation of its national health authority, with the possibility of implementation in the new year.
UK regulators are still assessing whether jabs should be approved for the 5-11 age group, with a decision likely before Christmas.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the feed provided.)
