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Coronavirus: 13 questions about vaccinations for children

2021-12-01T10:15:10.142Z


Should parents have their child vaccinated, what are the risks? The chief doctor of a children's clinic answers questions about the corona vaccination for 5- to 11-year-olds. And declares many a discussion to be superfluous.


Read the video transcript here

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has now approved the vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer for children between the ages of five and eleven.

A recommendation from the Standing Commission, Stiko for short, is still pending.

Special vaccine doses for 5-11 year olds should be available from December 13th.

Many parents are now asking themselves: Should I have my child vaccinated against Covid-19?

We have collected questions from parents on this topic on Instagram and put them to the head physician at the Worms Children's Clinic.

All answers from Markus Knuf, Head Physician Children's Clinic Worms

Is it really medically necessary to vaccinate young children?


“There are children with chronic respiratory diseases, children with neurological disorders, children with congenital heart defects, children with oncological diseases, and so on.

Such a vaccination makes perfect sense for them because it is to be feared that they will suffer serious complications from a Sars-Cov2 infection. "

Can immunocompromised children also be vaccinated?


“Well, especially those with immune deficiencies should be vaccinated.

The risk is, in quotation marks, that the vaccination response, i.e. the vaccination success, may be reduced.

But it is always better to devote yourself to a possible Sars-Cov-2 infection with a reduced vaccination success, a somewhat weaker antibody response and stimulation of the cellular immune system than to become ill unprotected. "

Is it necessary for the children themselves or just to fight the pandemic?


»

I think we would be very, very, very much further if all adults had themselves vaccinated, because children get infected from one another, we know that, but they don't get very seriously ill. Then we would speak of a natural contamination, as is the case with other infectious diseases against which we do not vaccinate. If you now imagine newborn babies who were born two years ago: They think that people have such a white thing on their faces. So facial expressions, gestures, we learn all these things by watching in newborns and infants. And if the whole environment is masked at once and is no longer visible at all, then this has blatant consequences for the development of the children. That cannot be denied at all.That is why the point "How do we get out of the pandemic", if necessary with vaccinations, is a very relevant one, even for small children. But first and foremost with the adults. "

Has the vaccine been tested on children?

If so, how many and at what age?


»

It was of course examined on children, in the age group of five to eleven year olds.

And that is always around a thousand children per arm in such approval studies, i.e. 2000 children in the study.

So there are no studies with millions of doses, that has to be said.

But in order to record significant adverse events, this is also in conjunction with the data that was collected in advance, in so-called phase two studies and, in children and adolescents who have received the adult vaccine, a sufficient number to receive the vaccine but not a sufficient number of test persons to answer every question about undesirable effects and long-term consequences beyond all doubt. "

What are the risks of vaccination?


“In

principle, the risks are primarily to be seen at the puncture site, redness, swelling and also an inflammatory reaction. It is a relatively reactogenic vaccine, so febrile conditions or fever can occur. And children who have trouble dealing with a fever - there are very, very rarely and very occasionally children who then also react with seizures, either in the sense of an occasional seizure, febrile seizures are called those, or very rare forms of epilepsy. They have to be named because it can happen at that age. "

Are there


any

effects on development

»

We know - it is functionally a dead vaccine, it is not a virus that can reproduce. And we know a large number of vaccines that are administered to children where we do not observe any developmental impairment. Functionally, I therefore said: I already know that this is a vaccine class of its own, the mRNA vaccines, but in terms of function it is a dead vaccine. I say that on purpose. So that you can get away from the whole discussion "We are now waiting for the healing Novavax vaccine!" - which, by the way, has been tested in much less detail than the mRNA vaccines. So that's, I think, a bit of a shadow boxing discussion and not so much a factual discussion. "

Why is the Stiko waiting?


»

I think the Stiko is not waiting. Instead, the Stiko does what is required in this situation: The Stiko checks all the data very carefully.

Now you will say: Yes, why can't you just read through five pages and come to a conclusion?

It's not like that.

Sifting through a serious dispute simply takes time.

And I think populism and hectic actionism is somehow out of place at this point. "

Who is liable if something happens to my child?


»

If there is a Stiko recommendation, it is a recommendation in the public interest, so the public sector is also liable.

It's different if you vaccinate outside of a license or outside of a Stiko recommendation. "

Is the vaccine the same in its composition and dose as for adults?


That's why the children's vaccine was designed to reduce the side effects.

So there is less antigen in the syringe, in quotation marks.

So the side effect profile is certainly to be assessed similarly, but adapted to the child's weight and size proportions. "

Do children also need multiple vaccinations?


»

The approval has been given for two vaccinations and since this is functionally a dead vaccine, it is to be expected that a booster or booster vaccination will be indicated at some point.

That is the essence of dead vaccines, that they have to be replenished. "

Where can I have my child vaccinated now?


There are already vaccination doctors who go and take an adult dose and make their own vaccines by diluting it with table salt and then somehow taking half or a third of it. I advise against that. Because you don't know how the vaccine is stable and you can't say exactly how much antigen is actually in it. I understand that there are parents of really seriously ill children who say: I want maximum protection for my child. That is absolutely correct. But here, too, the hint: Then make sure that the parents are vaccinated themselves and that everyone around them is vaccinated. "

Should I make an appointment now?


»

I think you should wait for a Stiko recommendation. Seriously. And then see what results from it. Personally, I expect that, given the limited data from the approval study, the Stiko might first make a recommendation for children and adolescents who are particularly at risk with a risk profile and then for everyone. And I recommend waiting for that and then looking: Is my child eligible for a vaccination? And then an appointment will certainly be available quickly. "

What if the pediatrician is against vaccinating minors?


"

If recognized experts come to an assessment, then I think that as a pediatrician who does not vaccinate, you first need good arguments as to why you think all this is stupid and then, in case of doubt, you may have to look for another doctor."

Source: spiegel

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