Corona vaccination for children: side effects, second vaccination and differences from adults

Created: 12/14/2021, 05:42 PM

From: Richard Strobl

A nine-year-old girl, accompanied by her mother and her cuddly toy, is vaccinated with the vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer during a vaccination campaign in the “City Center Schenefeld” shopping center near Hamburg.

© Christian Charisius / dpa

Germany starts this week with the corona vaccinations for children from the age of five.

The most important information can be found here.

Munich - Doctors and vaccination centers are preparing for the start of children's vaccinations against the coronavirus this week.

According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the delivery of the cans began on Monday.

The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) had recommended Corona vaccinations last week for children between five and eleven years with certain previous illnesses.

The experts also recommend this if there are high-risk patients living in the children's environment who cannot protect themselves with vaccinations.

For all other children a vaccination should be possible if “individually requested”.

Corona vaccination for children in Germany: This is how the immunization works

Children in this age group are vaccinated with the Comirnaty vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer.

Almost a third of the amount is vaccinated compared to adults (10 micrograms).

As with adults, two vaccinations are required for basic immunization.

For children, these should take place every three to six weeks.

Vaccination of children is now recommended, although the course of the disease in this population group is mostly symptom-free.

However, there are also isolated cases of severe illnesses in children (especially if they have previous illnesses).

In addition, so-called long covid symptoms can also occur in children.

This includes fatigue, rapid exhaustion after exertion, memory and concentration disorders, but also cardiovascular problems, sleep disorders and depressive moods.

In addition, children can pass the virus on to other people despite the asymptomatic course.

The vaccination should protect against this.

Side effects of corona vaccinations for children from the age of five

Vaccination side effects can also occur in children between the ages of five and eleven.

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), these hardly differ from the side effects that can occur in children between the ages of twelve and 17.

This can lead to swelling and redness at the injection site on the upper arm.

Fatigue, chills, headaches and muscle aches can also occur.

Fever and joint pain are also less common.

The vaccinations are primarily carried out by pediatricians, but Berlin, for example, also wants to use its vaccination centers for this.

In Lower Saxony, at least 19 children's clinics are also to take part in the vaccination campaign.

However, the federal states plan differently.

Corona vaccination for children: Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal states plan differently

In Schleswig-Holstein and Bremen, child vaccinations are to start on Tuesday, the state of Berlin wants to start on Wednesday.

The Bavarian state government expects the child vaccinations from Wednesday, in Rhineland-Palatinate they should start on Thursday.

Then Hamburg will also open its vaccination center for children.

In North Rhine-Westphalia it should not officially start until Friday.

For the approximately 4.4 million children of the corresponding age, 2.4 million vaccine doses are to be delivered this week.

That is initially sufficient, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health.

Even more should be delivered at the beginning of next year.