Should children be vaccinated against the corona virus? Many families in the Enz district are concerned with this question. Pediatricians from the region try to answer this question.
There are great uncertainties about vaccinating children. This could also be due to the late recommendation of the Standing Vaccination Commission. At the same time, the company Biontech has announced a vaccine for children under twelve that should be on the market in a few weeks. In the district office of the Enz district, several paediatricians have spoken on the subject today. SWR reporter Peter Lauber spoke to you.
What do the doctors say: should young people get vaccinated against the corona virus?
Clearly yes – most paediatricians agree. The head of the Maulbronn Children’s Center even said that it was of fundamental importance to have children and adolescents aged twelve and over vaccinated. If only because at this age social contacts are extremely important for the development of young people. Already now there is a strong increase in mental disorders but also in cases of internet addiction. Just like with adults, a vaccination is very reliable in protecting against serious illness and death.
On the occasion, the doctors also broke a lance for the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko), which had been criticized by some, and which had initially held back with a vaccination recommendation. But precisely because the Commission is very picky and takes it very carefully, precisely because you first wanted to have all the data and facts and did not allow yourself to be put under pressure by politicians, their recommendations are very reliable, they say. In under 16-year-olds, there have indeed been cases of heart inflammation, but extremely rarely – and the risk is significantly smaller than the risk of Long Covid disease.
The company Biontech has now announced a vaccine for children under twelve – How did the experts from the Enzkreis say about it?
There is still no statement from the doctors. These are unlaid eggs, there are still no numbers and data at all. Vaccinations for children under twelve are not so much a focus of pediatricians. The little ones are not the big problem in this pandemic, neither as recipients nor as spreaders of the virus and diseases are extremely rare. Nevertheless, they do exist – around 400 cases of hospital admissions are known nationwide.
“It is a scandal that we have so many unvaccinated people. We are playing with fire. We are endangering our entire health system.”
The doctors therefore agree on one point: the best protection for children and adolescents is protected adults. It is a scandal that we still have tens of millions of unvaccinated adults, said Professor Rainer Blank, Medical Director and Managing Director of the Maulbronn Children’s Center, quoting: “We are playing with fire and are endangering our entire health system.” And that only as a result of wild scare tactics against the vaccination, which has been proven to offer a high level of protection against serious and life-threatening diseases – and above all, which also protects one’s own children, according to Rainer Blank.
School starts on Monday. Is everything going well there – or what do the doctors say about the general conditions for starting school in the Enzkreis?
It is generally welcomed that there is no longer any quarantine for the whole class – also on the part of the health department. Testing is still absolutely necessary, but that has worked with the children and is not a problem either. On the other hand, there is a lack of understanding for the announcement that the vaccination centers will soon be closed. For the boys in particular, this offer is still immensely important, the paediatricians are already overloaded, said a specialist from Mühlacker. Pediatricians were missing everywhere and he didn’t know how he could manage the many vaccinations with all the bureaucratic effort behind them. Doctors agree that only working with mobile vaccination teams will not be enough. At least a limited operation should continue to exist.
“Social contacts are immensely important at this age. It would be a disaster if we had to close the schools again in winter ”.
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SWR reporter Peter Lauber spoke to doctors from the Enzkreis.
SWR
SWR –
The following doctors took part in the discussion group of the Enzkreis:
- Dr. Wolfgang Diebold, pediatrician with a practice in Straubenhardt
- Dr. Uli Friesinger, pediatrician with a practice in Mühlacker
- Prof. Dr. Rainer Blank, Medical Director and Managing Director of the Maulbronn Children’s Center, Clinic for Child Neurology and Social Pediatrics
- Dr. Brigitte Joggerst, head of the health department
- Dr. Isabel Maubach, Head of the Pediatric and Adolescent Medical Service, Health Department
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