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ARCHIVED - Spain rethinks vaccinating young children due to adverse effects
The administration of a booster jab to the general population has also been ruled out in Spain
The Ministry of Health in Spain has expressed serious doubts on Tuesday November 2 about the safety of administering the coronavirus vaccine to children under the age of 12, with Fernando Simón indicating that the risk of suffering side-effects could be greater than the benefit.
So far, younger children have proven incredibly robust against Covid; the current fatality rate is two deaths per 10,000 inhabitants for the general population, while in children, this figure drops dramatically to three in 100,000. This shows, according to Mr Simón, that youngsters are “little affected” by the pandemic and so should not be subjected to adverse effects associated with the jab, however minimal.
While many communities such as Andalucía have published start dates for a vaccination campaign for children, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, remains firm that Spain will wait for a decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), expected by the end of the year. Even then, she insisted, experts in this country will vigorously review the available data before reaching a judgement.
The decision to vaccinate children isn’t the only one up for debate this week, with the Ministry effectively ruling out a booster jab for the general population. Mr Simón reiterated his belief that a third dose (or second in the case of the Janssen vaccine) remains unnecessary.
The cumulative incidence rate in Spain dropped again on Tuesday and while the authorities insist the issue of a third vaccination is under “continuous evaluation,” for now a booster will only be given to those over the age of 70. It is more important at this point, Mr Simón said, to give the extra doses to third world countries.
As much of Europe braces itself for a dreaded sixth wave of the pandemic, Germany and Austria are currently researching the possibility of administering a third dose to over-12s while Ireland has already committed to offering a booster jab to health care workers.
Image: Archive
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