Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble urges the Standing Vaccination Commission to make a Corona vaccination recommendation for children and adolescents from the age of twelve.
"If the European approval authority declares two corona vaccines to be safe and effective for children from 12 years of age, I think there is a lot to be said for using the vaccine widely for this group as well," said the CDU politician in an interview with the " Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung “(NOZ).
“It is not up to the President of the Bundestag to criticize the Standing Vaccination Commission.
However, I can remind you of your responsibility. ”The corona risks are many times higher for children than those of a vaccination.
As a grandfather, he personally wishes that his grandchildren could be vaccinated as soon as possible.
STIKO rejects criticism
In May, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the Covid-19 vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer for children and adolescents from the age of twelve, and the approval for Moderna followed a few days ago.
For Germany, however, the STIKO has so far only recommended vaccination for children and adolescents with certain previous illnesses who are at increased risk of a severe course.
The reasons given by the STIKO were a lack of data on the safety of the vaccine.
Numerous politicians had criticized the commission for its actions in the past few weeks. The STIKO is increasingly taking a stand against it, most recently after criticism from Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder. "The current statements by Mr Söder and other politicians about the STIKO and their work are unusual, even taking into account the election campaign time, and must be corrected," said the independent committee headed by virologist Thomas Mertens. The aim of the STIKO is to develop the best possible vaccination recommendation for individual people and for the community.