National Council for Immunization supports the vaccination of children aged 5-11 against Covid-19

  • 2021-12-01
  • LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA - The National Council for Immunization generally supports the vaccination of children against Covid-19 in the group from 5 to 11 years, but reiterates that vaccination of seniors and at-risk groups is still the most important, Professor Dace Zavadska, head of the council, informed LETA today.

She emphasizes that vaccination of seniors and people at risk is a priority in both primary and booster shot vaccination.

Based on currently available scientific and evidence-based information, the National Council for Immunization generally supports vaccination against Covid-19 in children aged 5 to 11 years, but is strongly recommended for use in all children at risk for severe symptoms Covid-19. These include children with oncology, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other chronic organ diseases, the professor explains.

The European Medicines Agency has authorized Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for use in children aged 5 to 11 years. This is based on an assessment of the data from a study where the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination outweigh the risks. 3,082 children participated in the study.

The State Council for Immunization predicts that children's doses of vaccines in Latvia could be available at the end of December, so at the end of December or the beginning of January it would be possible to start vaccination with the first dose, which would already be enough to initiate a primary immune response. The council recommends that children receive a second dose three months after the first dose. Children with high immunosuppression require three doses to complete the primary vaccination course.

As reported, EMA last week approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 for kids aged 5 to 11.

The EMA's decision enables the immunization of younger children in the European Union (EU).

The EMA's decision will be forwarded to the European Commission, which will take the final decision on authorizing the Covid-19 jab for children of this age group.

The European Medicines Agency said that a panel of experts "recommended granting an extension of indication for the Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty to include use in children aged 5 to 11", using the jab's brand name.

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 is already authorized in the EU for use in children aged 12 and older, as well as adults.