The EU Medicines Agency could end testing for children five and over next week. Approval of the first dead vaccines is expected around the turn of the year.
The number of infections is climbing to new record levels: In addition to Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ireland are particularly badly affected countries by the fourth wave. From a scientific point of view, it is clear that a population as vaccinated as possible is the only way out of this pandemic, which has now lasted more than 20 months. The question of the approval of the vaccine for children from the age of five is all the more pressing – especially since there are currently a particularly high number of diseases among young people. The mRNA vaccine from Biontech-Pfizer is expected to be released across the EU shortly. In mid-October, the company applied to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for market approval.
Health Minister Wolfgang Mückstein believes in a decision “around November 24th”, so next Wednesday. The EMA itself is covered. In any case, there should be the green light before Christmas. The approval study shows that the highly effective vaccine is well tolerated. In Austria and elsewhere, thousands of children are already vaccinated “off label” (at the responsibility of their parents) with the recommended dose of ten micrograms (adults: 30 micrograms) of Biontech-Pfizer for this age group. In the USA, the approval for five to twelve year olds has officially been granted.