Healthy children aged five to eleven will no longer be able to get a corona shot from February 23. Children with an increased medical risk will still be offered the vaccine.
Experts no longer consider the shot necessary for this group, because the majority of the children have already had corona. In addition, the now dominant omikron variant of the virus is less likely to develop MIS-C.
MIS-C is a serious inflammatory reaction in the vital organs that children can very rarely contract with a first corona infection. The condition was an important reason to vaccinate children against corona after all.
“From February 23, parents of children without an increased medical risk, i.e. without a referral from a doctor, will no longer be able to make an appointment for vaccination,” Kuipers writes to the House of Representatives.
Appointments already scheduled, including those after February 23, can continue. This includes children who already have an appointment for their second vaccination. “They can just complete the basic series,” Kuipers writes about it. But they are not offered a repeat shot.
Children with an increased medical risk can still get a corona shot. They can also get a repeat shot, even if they have already had corona once.
