In autumn, the corona case numbers will rise again. This is the assumption of the Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) and has therefore fundamentally revised its recommendations for a corona vaccination. The committee has changed its previous recommendation, especially for children aged five to eleven years. Now not only children with pre-existing diseases should be vaccinated, but all children at this age should receive at least one dose of vaccine. This suggests the improved data situation. The experts advise to use Comirnaty from BioNTech as a vaccine. Spikevax from Moderna is also an alternative.
In the wording, the current decision of the STIKO, which was published in the "Epidemiological Bulletin" on Tuesday:
The one-time vaccination of healthy children aims to quickly establish the best possible basic immunity. If improved vaccination protection should become necessary in the future, this could be easily achieved with a greater distance between the first and second vaccination. The vaccination interval improves and prolongs the protective effect. In addition, the risk of heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis) could be reduced in this way.
If a child had already suffered to Covid-19, vaccination should be administered at the earliest three months after the infection. And for healthy children who have already received two vaccine doses, no further immunization is initially necessary. However, the STIKO wants to comment on this again in late summer. Then when an increase in the number of cases is expected again.
At a press event of the Science Media Center, pediatricians have spoken out in favor of the new recommendation. "Such a vaccination is a strengthening of the immune system due to the very good safety profile of the vaccination, and that's why I would recommend it to parents," says Tim Niehues, chief physician of the Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Helios Klinikum Krefeld. »Just as I let myself be booster, I would also recommend that parents do this with the children and thus probably improve the overall immunity situation.«
In its current decision, STIKO also strongly advises people recovering from Covid-19 to get vaccinated. A disease that has been through does not sufficiently protect against re-infection with Sars-CoV-2, according to STIKO.
