The interest was huge: In an online lecture initiated by the Green MP Johannes Becher, an expert spoke about the corona vaccination for children.
Freising
- The interest in the online event of the Greens MP Johannes Becher with the title "Corona vaccination for children - More safety or unnecessary risk?" On Thursday was so great that many of the over 200 interested people had to leave the virtual room. so as not to risk a breakdown of the transmission.
This topic drives people, it was clearly felt that evening.
The head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the Hauner Children's Hospital in Munich, Prof. Dr.
Johannes Huebner, explained.
(By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)
What should be observed in any case, said Hübner in the introduction, would be an increase in Covid infections in children and adolescents - albeit largely without severe progression. The numbers: During the entire pandemic, 2,058 children and adolescents in Germany had to be hospitalized, five percent of them requiring intensive care. So far there have been 33 validated Covid-19 deaths among those under the age of 20, but in 21 cases there was information about a previous illness. In addition to the more contagious delta variant, what definitely plays a role in the current high positive numbers is the extensive test activity in schools, for example. According to Hübner, it should be noted, however, that, in contrast to the school outbreaks, the number of outbreaks reported in daycare centers has so far been significantly below the level of the second and third waves.For Hübner, schools and daycare centers for children and adolescents are one thing above all else: they are systemically relevant. For him, closings are therefore the very last resort that can be resorted to.
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Prof. Johannes Huebner explained the meaning and benefits of child vaccinations.
The data situation is still pretty thin.
© Lorenz
Long Covid among the youngest
But what is currently on the minds of many parents: the topic of long covid among the youngest.
This is on everyone's lips, according to Hübner, but unfortunately there is not a lot of data on this - or there are quite different findings.
The Dresden study even came to the conclusion that the symptoms of children with antibodies can be similar to those of children without an infection.
For Hübner, this means above all that the pandemic is a heavy burden on children per se - or in other words: "Long Covid versus Long Lockdown".
But what about the vaccination of children, which is basically justified with individual protection, external protection and herd immunity.
Few deaths and PIMS cases (a serious inflammatory clinical picture, note by the editor), plus a weak data situation on Long Covid due to a corona infection - according to Hübner, it should be considered whether vaccinations should be given for this reason.
The doctor also has a clear opinion when it comes to third-party protection: adults must above all protect themselves with a vaccination.
The "ominous" herd immunity will not be achieved anyway, and children hardly play a role here.
Stiko decision as a benchmark
The question: “So would Huebner have his own children vaccinated?” Occupied one viewer. From the age of twelve he would vaccinate his offspring, but with smaller children he would still wait for the Stiko's decision. Because one thing is certain for him, said the medical practitioner: the smaller the child, the smaller the benefit of the vaccination for the child itself - due to the low risk of a serious illness. Convincing parents with pressure to vaccinate, he would not advise - but it is fundamentally important that as many adults as possible pick up the spades. Vaccinations for children and adolescents, according to the infectiologist, are welcome, but especially for children with risk factors and for family members with immunosuppression.
According to Hübner, it is still unclear whether children will eventually also need a booster - there are clear indications of good tolerability, however, from countries where the little ones are already vaccinated. What makes no sense: An antibody determination before the vaccination, because the titer often drops quickly - and the important cellular immune defense is not measurable in this way. What is also not possible, and the health policy spokeswoman for the Greens in the Landtag, Christina Haubrich, is the exclusion of unvaccinated children from the age of twelve from social life. This clearly needs to be readjusted.
The needs and interests of children and adolescents should be the focus again, emphasized Johannes Becher in conclusion.
It is currently an extremely difficult time that requires differentiated answers to complex questions - and no headlines, said the MP.
Good to know
The digital event on vaccination for children and adolescents is available as a stream at www.youtube.com/user/jojobecher
Richard Lorenz