Will children and adolescents be vaccinated against Corona soon? The EU Medicines Agency (EMA) has decided on the vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer.
Amsterdam / Berlin – Green light for vaccinations for children: The EU drug authority EMA has approved the corona vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer for children and adolescents from the age of twelve. The agency announced this on Friday (May 28, 2021) at a press conference in Amsterdam. The approval decision was originally not expected until June, but the EMA had accelerated the process. So far, the vaccine was only approved for people aged 16 and over in the European Union.
US study: Biontech vaccine protects children and adolescents well against corona
Even before the official EMA announcement, a US study came to the conclusion that the Biontech vaccine also reliably protects children between the ages of twelve and 15 from corona disease. This was shown by data that were already the basis for the emergency approval of the vaccine in the USA in this age group and that were also submitted to the EMA.
In the study, there were no corona cases in more than 1000 vaccinated children and adolescents, in roughly the same large, unvaccinated control group there were 16. After the vaccination, there were mostly only slight vaccination reactions such as tiredness or headaches, wrote the scientists in the “New England Journal of Medicine”. The positive results also justified tests on younger children or other groups that are particularly worthy of protection, such as pregnant women, it said.
Corona vaccine for children: Biontech effectiveness at 100 percent
The researchers evaluated data from a total of 2260 children between the ages of 12 and 15. They had received two doses of the vaccine (1131 children) or placebo injections (1129 children) with saline solution 21 days apart. For seven days after each injection, the test subjects noted any vaccination reactions. Adverse effects were recorded up to six months after the second injection.
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According to the researchers, the effectiveness of a double vaccination was 100 percent, since there was no corona case in the study group compared to the placebo group. Apart from that, laboratory tests also showed that the vaccination produced a stable immune response, it was even better than in the group of adolescents and young adults between 16 and 25 years of age.
Biontech: Federal government clears the way for corona vaccines for children
As in other age groups, the vaccine reactions when they occurred were mild to moderate. The participants complained of pain at the injection site, tiredness, headache and fever – more frequently after the second dose than after the first. The symptoms usually disappeared within a few days. There were no serious adverse effects such as thrombosis or anaphylactic shock. However, the total number of 1131 vaccinated only allows limited conclusions to be drawn about rare side effects.
The federal government had already cleared the way for children’s vaccinations against the corona virus. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the Prime Ministers of the federal states agreed on Thursday (May 27th, 2021) at the vaccination summit that parents with children from the age of twelve should start from the end of the prioritization, i.e. usually from June 7th, Make an effort to arrange a vaccination appointment with the resident doctors or in the vaccination centers. (tvd / dpa)
Picture list: © Roberto Casimiro / Imago Images
