And now?

Many families asked themselves this question at their kitchen tables this week.

From Monday onwards, not only can all adults register for a vaccination against the coronavirus, parents can also register their offspring from twelve to 15 years old for a vaccination appointment.

The prioritization is canceled.

Actually, good news, one that we as a society have been working towards for months: vaccinations for (almost) everyone.

Lucia Schmidt

Editor in the "Life" section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

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    But instead of euphoria, uncertainty is spreading among parents these days.

    The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has given the go-ahead.

    BioNTech / Pfizer's vaccine is approved for children and adolescents from twelve to 15 years of age in this country.

    But Germany is struggling to develop a clear stance on this, while in the United States, teenagers have been immunized every day for weeks, and millions of times over.

    How should parents decide?

    Not only because of this, it is surprising to many that pediatricians and vaccination experts in this country do not want to start immediately. The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO), the highest authority in Germany for vaccination recommendations, will not publish its official statement until the middle of next week - i.e. after the potential run on the vaccination dates has started. However, it is not to be expected that she will recommend the vaccination for all children, but only for children with previous illnesses. The STIKO was criticized last week for its hesitant attitude. Health Minister Jens Spahn has even announced that all children from the age of twelve will be vaccinated, regardless of a STIKO recommendation. In the meantime, various representatives of general practitioner and paediatrician associations have publicly positioned themselves:They advise against nationwide vaccinations for children and adolescents under the age of 16 - at least for now. How should parents decide?

    Everything indicates that the state of scientific knowledge at the moment does not yet correspond to what politicians would like to announce: Let the children vaccinate safely!

    Politicians have an interest in this.

    Vaccinated children would make things easier: school openings, vacation plans, leisure activities.

    They would probably bring Germany closer to herd immunity.

    But can that be a reason to expose children to a vaccination risk that cannot yet be assessed due to a lack of scientific data?

    Can one put the benefit for the general public above the individual risk of the child?

    And can herd immunity even be achieved with this virus?

    No major incidents

    These are all questions that the STIKO has to deal with before making a recommendation. It now seems to be proven that vaccinated people pass the virus on less frequently than non-vaccinated people. This also creates protection for those who have not yet been vaccinated or who cannot be vaccinated. In the best case scenario, the aim of herd immunity is also to eradicate the virus, as was once the plan for measles. Experts strongly doubt that this is even possible with the corona virus. But it is also about social issues. Because before one assigns the responsibility for herd immunity to children, all adults who are allowed and able to be vaccinated should first be. Although there is a high willingness to vaccinate among adults, it is not high enough for herd immunity.