Professor Huebner, what do you think of the health ministers wanting to vaccinate as many children as possible against Covid-19?

Christian Geinitz

Business correspondent in Berlin

  • Follow I follow

We paediatricians are generally very much in favor of vaccination.

If the protective effect of a vaccination outweighs the dangers of side effects, this is also the right way to combat corona.

We just don't know that about people under the age of 16.

So: I like to vaccinate, but first I want to see reasonable data. 

There are studies by the manufacturers.  

Yes, but the number of test subjects was so low that it was not possible to depict more rare courses at all.

That is not enough for reliable scientific statements.

And that's what you need if you want to vaccinate healthy children with a clear conscience. 

When do we have certainty on this issue? 

I think the US data will be available in a few weeks.

They have vaccinated more than 15 million children since May and follow the progress in real time.

I expect that the numbers will show that in children - as in adults - the side effects are extremely low.

But one shouldn't anticipate that. 

How do Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn and the state ministers do it? 

Yes, this political activism annoys me.

The incidences are low, the hospitalization rate is low, there is absolutely no reason to break the child vaccination over the knee.

One should wait until the facts are clear.

The politicians think they have to decide something as quickly as possible during the election campaign in order to reassure their parents.

The rushed decisions unsettle everyone, the children, the parents and also the schools. 

What about the Standing Vaccination Commission STIKO, which so far only recommends vaccinations between the ages of 12 and 16 for high-risk patients? 

The members of the STIKO are the only ones who keep a cool head.

Your decision is absolutely correct: the risk for children of developing Covid-19 is extremely low, much lower than that of adults.

A vaccination recommendation is only necessary if the risk of side effects is even lower.

Again: This is probably the case, and that is probably why vaccination makes sense.

But until the STIKO has this in black and white, it is technically necessary not to make a general vaccination recommendation.  

However, the pressure on STIKO is growing to do this earlier. 

The STIKO takes a real beating, and I find that outrageous.

Politicians have set up this independent panel of experts and are now trying to shoot it ripe because they want simple, quick answers before the end of the summer vacation.

That does not work like this!

The goal of all those involved must be to combat vaccination skepticism and to build up as much trust as possible, also for future pandemics.

This cannot be achieved by discrediting the responsible scientific institution. 

But doesn't it make sense to vaccinate as many students as possible at the beginning of the class, as the ministers want? 

Schools have never been and will never be hotspots of infection.

Most of the time, the teachers carried the virus into the classrooms.

Fortunately, they are now largely vaccinated.

I'm not at all worried about schools in the fall.  

It's not just about the kids.

Even if they don't get sick, they can protect others once they're vaccinated. 

This is precisely why STIKO is already recommending child vaccinations in certain cases.

For example, if people at risk live in the same household, think of pregnant women or cancer patients who cannot be vaccinated themselves.

The STIKO does not prohibit vaccinations, after medical advice, every child can be vaccinated now. 

The Delta variant, which is now also prevalent in Germany, is considered to be particularly infectious, is it also for children? 

Delta is more contagious in all age groups, including minors.

But there is no evidence that more children get Covid-19 as a result.

Neither in Germany nor in Great Britain do we see an increase in severe courses from Delta.  

So the unvaccinated children are not a cause for alarm? 

Not primarily.

I have the feeling that the unspeakable discussion about child vaccinations is distracting from the real issue: that not enough adults get vaccinated.

The goal must be to convince them, and that is what the campaigns should focus on, not the children and young people.