Covid: WHO calls for better protection of children, currently the most affected

Faced with the rebound of the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe, the WHO called on Tuesday to better protect children, currently the most affected age group.

To avoid further class closures and the return of distance education, the organization's European branch advises to step up testing in schools and consider vaccination of schoolchildren.

In France, Jean Castex said this Monday evening that children aged 5 to 11 will be able to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in a few weeks, "if possible by the end of the year".

This could begin as early as December 20, said Olivier Véran.

Read alsoVaccination of young children against Covid: why countries are advancing at different rates

"The use of masks and ventilation, as well as regular testing, should be the norm in all primary schools and the vaccination of children should be discussed and considered at the national level, in order to protect schools", asserted his director Hans Kluge at an online press conference.

Compulsory vaccination, "the absolute last resort"

According to the WHO, cases are currently increasing in all age groups, "with the highest rates currently seen among 5-14 year olds."

"It is not uncommon today to see incidences two to three times higher in young children than in the total population," Kluge said.

As for compulsory vaccination, decided or envisaged by certain countries, it must remain a recourse of "absolute last resort, only when all possible options to increase the vaccination rate have been exhausted", according to WHO Europe.

The incidence rates in young children are indeed much higher than in the general population, in France but also in other European countries.

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- Nicolas Berrod (@nicolasberrod) December 7, 2021

The organization has once again shown its concern over the new Omicron variant, but called on to fight the current dominant variant, the Delta for "a victory tomorrow against Omicron".

“The Omicron is in sight and on the rise and we are right to be concerned and cautious.

But the problem now is Delta and how we succeed against Delta today will be a win against Omicron tomorrow, ”before the cases escalate massively.