The Public Health Commission approved this Tuesday the incorporation of children between 5 and 11 years old into the national vaccination strategy against Covid-19, thus following the proposal previously made by the Vaccine Panel.
In Spain there are approximately 3.3 million children of these ages who are likely to receive protection against Covid. "At this time, children under 12 years of age constitute the age group with the highest cumulative incidence of cases," the Ministry of Health specifies.
Thus, they explain that the Commission has approved vaccination in this age group "to reduce the burden of disease in this group and transmission in the family environment, in schools 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 against possible future conditions and against persistent Covid syndrome.
On November 25, the European Medicines Agency (EMA in its English acronym) authorized the Comirnaty children's vaccine (from the Pfizer firm) for the population between 5 and 11 years. This vaccine will be dispensed in different vials than those used for the adult population.
The arrival of the first shipment of pediatric vaccines to Spain is scheduled for December 13 and the distribution in the communities and autonomous cities, as has been done throughout the vaccination campaign, will be done proportionally to their target population. The Commission has decided to start childhood vaccination in this age group starting on December 15.
Likewise, the Public Health Commission, at the request of the Vaccine Panel, has decided that the administration interval of the second dose should be 8 weeks, "to help increase the immune response, as well as to have all children between 5 and 11 years old vaccinated in a short period of time with at least one dose."
It should be remembered that in Spain more than 76 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered and almost 90 percent of the target population so far (over 12 years of age) has received the complete vaccination schedule. In addition, more than 5 million booster doses have been administered to people over 60 years of age or those vaccinated with Janssen.
The Public Health Commission also insisted on the importance of prioritizing the administration of booster doses in groups such as health, social health and those over 60, in addition to promoting primary vaccination in people who have not yet been vaccinated. Finally, they also stressed the need to emphasize precautionary and care messages with the use of masks in closed spaces and in open spaces where the safety distance of 1.5 meters stipulated cannot be maintained; hand washing, ventilation and also in the maintenance of social distance.
