Spain’s Health Ministry gave the green light on Tuesday to vaccinate children ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19 amid an increase in infections in recent weeks.
Italy and Austria are also vaccinating children since the European Union’s drug regulatory agency authorized the use of Pfizer’s vaccine for children of that age on 25 November.
The decision of the European Medicines Agency paved the way for the vaccination of millions of primary school children across the continent.
The Spanish ministry tweeted the news of the approval following the decision of a committee of experts. The campaign will begin on December 15, two days after the arrival of 3.2 million pediatric vaccines to Spain.
Portugal, Spain’s neighbor on the Iberian Peninsula, is expected to do the same, as it expects pediatric doses to take place within two weeks. Portuguese authorities say that more than 90% of residents aged 12 to 17 have received the doses.
The two Iberian countries have a high acceptance of the vaccine, since 90% of eligible people have received it. Although the contagion has increased in the two countries in recent weeks, hospitals in both are coping.
WHO Director for Europe Hans Kluge said Tuesday that “it is not unusual to see an incidence two to three times higher in young children today compared to the rest of the population.”
In addition to helping prevent spread in the rest of the family, vaccinating children can help prevent future school closures, Kluge said in a statement.
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