The target set by the Federal Minister of Health for corona vaccinations of children and adolescents by the end of the summer vacation has been received with some skepticism.
The professional association of paediatricians described the plan as "overambitious".
The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) urged patience because vaccinations for children should be carefully checked.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians has already requested an exact timetable for such a vaccination campaign.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) confirmed on Tuesday that all 12 to 18 year olds in Germany should be offered a vaccination by the end of the summer vacation.
On Tuesday evening, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on request that it would decide in May on the approval of the corona vaccine from the manufacturers Biontech and Pfizer for children from the age of twelve.
The process could be accelerated in light of progress in the evaluation and could be completed by the end of the month.
"Vacation cannot be the primary argument"
“In any case, we want to carefully check the data on the vaccination of children before a general vaccination recommendation for children can be given,” said STIKO chairman Thomas Mertens of the newspaper Welt. "Arguments currently being discussed, such as vacation, cannot be the primary decision-relevant arguments of the STIKO." If approval is granted for children from 12 to 15 years, "then children with serious pre-existing illnesses should actually be vaccinated first".
The president of the professional association of paediatricians, Thomas Fischbach, doubts the schedule for corona vaccinations for children. Fischbach assumes that after a possible EMA approval it would take some time for the STIKO to give its approval. "That's why I think the currently announced schedules with appointments in late summer are overambitious," said Fischbach of the Rheinische Post. “In the end, we want to vaccinate the children with an approved and safe vaccine. We don't want an emergency license, and there shouldn't be any compulsory vaccination. "
The chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, said that starting vaccinations for children and adolescents had to be well prepared. "Otherwise I'm worried that it will be delayed," he told the Handelsblatt. Young people need a clear perspective, for example for everyday school life. Basically, a vaccination campaign among children and adolescents can be created quickly, Gassen sees the public health service as being responsible in addition to the pediatricians in private practice. “This can be done together in a relatively short time,” said Gassen. For example, serial vaccinations could also be organized in schools. "This is the only way we can vaccinate many young people at once."