Christina was looking forward to the vaccinations of the teenagers. Her 15-year-old daughter Martha has type 1 diabetes. When the Standing Commission on Vaccinations (Stiko) recommended vaccinations in Germany for children at increased risk of severe COVID-19, the teen’s mom breathed a sigh of relief. Now, not only parents are vaccinated in the family, but also both children. Martha was also vaccinated by her 13-year-old brother Christophe. However, not all German parents reacted so positively to the vaccination of children over 12 years of age from covid. Teresa’s dad is still not sure. “Doubts remain, what if I harm my child,” – Roman shares his experiences.
23 percent of children over 12 are fully vaccinated
How many children have been vaccinated in Germany so far? Upon inquiry, DW Stiko provided up-to-date information as of September 6, 2021: more than 34 percent of all children and adolescents in Germany between 12 and 17 years old received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and more than 23 percent are fully vaccinated. That is, almost every fourth child in this age category.
Pediatric cardiologist and official representative of the German Union of Pediatricians (Berufsverband der Kinder- und Jugendärzte) Dr. Hermann Josef Kahl, like the mother of a 15-year-old girl, was waiting for the start of vaccination of children, fearing for the health of his young patients. having chronic diseases, for example, congenital heart disease. “We have already vaccinated many adolescents over the age of 12,” he said with relief in an interview with DW. “And we strongly recommend vaccinating children over the age of 12.
The German doctor knows firsthand that among parents there are those who oppose the vaccination of children. “They read a lot of different information on social networks, after which we have to talk to them for a long time to convince them of the correct vaccination,” says Josef Kahl. “Over the past year, there have been many myths about vaccines. We are trying to explain to parents that the vaccine is proven to be effective. and that there are a lot of fakes on the internet. “
One of the most egregious such fakes for a German cardiologist is information that girls who have been vaccinated against covid will not be able to have children. “It is despicable to disseminate such information. There is no scientific evidence, but it strikes fears. It’s disgusting,” the doctor said.
Will children under 12 be vaccinated?
Cases of severe covid leaks in children, in his experience, are indeed very few. His colleague, the director of the department of pediatric and adolescent medicine at the University Hospital Cologne, Professor Jörg Dötsch, in an interview with DW during the peak of the pandemic, said that children are more often hospitalized with parents who are in serious condition as a result of covid disease, since there is no one to look after the children, and not because the children themselves are sick with coronavirus infection.
Now in the children’s department there is an increase in the number of infectious diseases. Nine out of ten tests for covid are positive, but the children ended up in the hospital due to a completely different disease, as Jörg Dötsch commented on the current situation in Der Spiegel.
“Indeed, most children can easily tolerate covid, but all children want to communicate normally, meet with peers, lead a normal life. Vaccination makes it possible to do this without fear,” says his colleague from Dusseldorf Herman Josef Kahl. He agrees that the Permanent Vaccination Commission hesitated for a long time to allow vaccination of children, which led to increased skepticism among German parents, but it was important for Stiko to get the research results first. Now, new ones are being held, which should clarify the situation with children under 12 years old. The German doctor makes his prediction: “I think the vaccination of young children will not begin until 2022.”
Could it become mandatory like measles vaccination in Germany? Herman Josef Kahl excludes such a development of events. He does not deny that there are skeptics not only among parents, but also among his colleagues: “However, I can assure you that this always happens when a new vaccine appears. Most doctors in Germany are happy, and all doctors want their children to stay healthy. We have a lot of experience in vaccinating children. After all, we are vaccinated already in infancy and we understand that vaccines protect children from disease. “
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