Pediatricians are now calling on healthy children in the same age group to get the shot, NOS reports. President of the Dutch Association of Pediatricians, Károly Illy, told NOS Radio 1 Journaal that vaccinating healthy children can help protect family members for whom a coronavirus infection can lead to serious medical complications.
The Health Council advised on Friday to vaccinate vulnerable five to eleven-year-olds against Covid-19. There has been skepticism about vaccinating healthy children because they typically don’t have severe symptoms of Covid-19 infection, but it could prevent adults around them from becoming seriously ill.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has declared the Pfizer/BioNTech safe for children between the ages of five and eleven. “There are no worries about it,” Illy said.
Illy stressed that, as with any vaccine, there are risks. “You see, for example, in young adults that a very small group becomes ill from the Covid-19 vaccine, but does not experience any long-term consequences. According to research, the same applies to children aged five to eleven.
Residents of the Netherlands can be vaccinated against the disease from the age of 12. The Health Council is working on vaccination recommendations for children aged five to eleven. Vulnerable children will be the first to be called up for vaccination.
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