The Public Health Commission, in which the autonomous communities and the Ministry of Health are represented, approved this Tuesday the vaccination against Covid-19 of children between 5 and 11 years old in Spain.
The process, in which the Pfizer vaccine will be used, will begin with the arrival of the first doses from December 13, which will be distributed among the autonomous communities according to their population. This first month a total of 1.3 million doses will arrive, to which two million more will be added from January. The Commission has decided to begin vaccination of children in this age group, starting next December 15.
Likewise, the Public Health Commission, at the request of the Vaccine Committee, has decided that the interval of administration of the second dose is 8 weeks, to help increase the immune response, as well as to have all minors vaccinated between 5 and 11 years in a short space of time with at least one dose.
The Public Health Commission has approved the vaccination of these age cohorts, to reduce the burden of disease in this group and its transmission in the family environment, in educational centers and in the community. In this sense, the Commission highlights the importance of protecting minors of these ages not only from the disease in its acute form, but also from possible future conditions and from the persistent Covid syndrome.
The decision only concerns the Pfizer vaccine, as it is the only one approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). However, this situation could change in the coming weeks since, on November 9, Moderna requested the approval of its childhood vaccine from the EMA.
This endorsement comes after studying the report of the Vaccine Report, the group of technicians that advises the Spanish health authorities, and once the European Medicines Agency approved its use in Europe on November 25.
In Spain, there are about 3.3 million children of these ages who are likely to receive protection against Covid -19. Currently, they are the age group with the highest accumulated incidence of Covid-19, reaching 412 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a figure that places them well above the Spanish average, located at 248 cases.
According to the experts, it is also noteworthy that the second age group with the highest incidence is between 40 and 49 years old, which coincides with the age of the parents of these children.
