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- The vaccination commission has positioned itself to vaccinate children, now specially dosed corona vaccine is being delivered for five to eleven year olds.
- An overview shows how the vaccination campaign is starting in the different federal states.
- The new Federal Minister of Education, Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), sees further child vaccinations as an important contribution to ensuring classroom teaching.
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The corona vaccinations with a children’s vaccine for five to eleven year olds are starting in Germany. 2.4 million doses are to be delivered this week, as a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health said in Berlin on Monday. Given the total of 4.4 million children in this age group, this should be sufficient in a first move. More cans are to follow at the beginning of next year. In addition to medical practices, child vaccinations are also provided in vaccination centers in some countries. In some places special campaigns are planned – in Berlin, for example, in the natural history museum and the zoo, in Lower Saxony, among other things, in the Hannover 96 stadium. The actual start is sometimes different.
The Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) recommends vaccinations for children who have risk factors for a severe course of Covid-19 or relatives at high risk. However, after an individual decision and medical advice, all children can also be vaccinated. Lower-dose Biontech vaccine is used. Vaccinations have been going on for several weeks for children from the age of twelve.
Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) sees the further child vaccinations as an important contribution to ensuring classroom teaching, as she told the Funke media group. The general secretary of the Federal Schoolchildren Conference, Katharina Swinka, called for mobile vaccination teams in schools and better education. The president of the professional association of paediatricians, Thomas Fischbach, assumes that the majority of his colleagues will participate. “The preparations have largely been completed because the Stiko recommendation was expected,” he told the Rheinische Post.
North Rhine-Westphalia
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the first pediatricians began on Monday. Michael Achenbach from Plettenberg in the Sauerland was one of them. Children with heart problems, asthma, diabetes or with disabilities should come to him. Their parents would have informed themselves well in advance, said the doctor of the dpa. In addition, many would have put themselves on a waiting list. The city of Düsseldorf reported great demand for appointments for vaccinations to start on Friday.
Bayern
In Bavaria, according to Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU), children from the age of five should be able to be vaccinated from Wednesday in vaccination centers and medical practices – provided the federal government keeps delivery promises. The vaccination centers in Bavaria alone have ordered around 240,000 doses. “We have already asked the vaccination centers to offer special family vaccination appointments,” said Holetschek. In addition, according to a ministry spokeswoman, the stations should be designed in a child-friendly manner, and the children should receive “give-aways” such as colored pencils.
Bremen
A central child vaccination center for this age group has been set up in Bremen and will start operations on Tuesday. Pediatricians are available there for advice, and information material specially designed for children is created. Mobile vaccination offers for children are currently not planned.
Rhineland-Palatinate
The Rhineland-Palatinate state government is aiming for the start of vaccinations in one of the state’s nine centers for Thursday. Parents have been able to register their children online or via a hotline since December 1st. The main point of contact, however, should be the paediatricians, where appointments are made individually.
Baden-Wuerttemberg
The Ministry of Health in Baden-Württemberg initially sees pediatricians on the train for vaccinations for children. They know their patients best and know who should be vaccinated as a priority. In addition to the practices, there should also be vaccination campaigns in the city and rural districts and in clinics.
Berlin
In Berlin, the corona vaccinations for children in the three state-owned vaccination centers are to begin on Wednesday. There will be a total of 35 additional vaccination booths for children. Child vaccinations are also planned in primary schools by mobile vaccination teams. Vaccination offers for children are also planned for the Christmas holidays.
Saxony-Anhalt
In Saxony-Anhalt, according to the Ministry of Social Affairs, 87 paediatricians have so far agreed to vaccinate children of the age group, 40 of which have indicated their willingness to support vaccination centers if necessary. In addition, some rural districts and urban districts organized additional offers. The public vaccination centers in Magdeburg, the Burgenland district and the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district are expected to start vaccinating children in the new year.
Thuringia
In Thuringia, 3000 appointments for vaccinations of five to eleven year olds have been activated in several public vaccination centers for the time being. “We are first of all careful whether the promised vaccine actually arrives and whether the offer is accepted at all,” said the vaccination manager of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Jörg Mertz. From December 27th, the dates will be extended to vaccination centers throughout Thuringia.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, children in this age group should primarily be vaccinated by pediatricians. Health Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) said that where vaccinating paediatricians are not available, there will be offers in vaccination centers in the districts and urban districts. In addition, vaccination campaign days for children and their families are being planned.
For five to eleven year olds, a lower-dose and differently bottled preparation is used compared to the conventional Biontech / Pfizer vaccine. According to Stiko, two doses of the mRNA vaccine should be given at intervals of three to six weeks. There is still no approved vaccine for younger children.
Federal Family Minister Anne Spiegel (Greens) had given the start of child vaccinations a good signal. For many five to eleven year olds and their families that was a “great relief,” she told the newspapers of the Funke media group. Child-friendly vaccination offers are required everywhere in the country.
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