STA, 14 December 2021 - Vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 could start in Slovenia today as the advisory group on immunization at the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) approved a proposal by paediatricians to recommend Covid-19 vaccination for children last evening.
The paediatricians recommended vaccination for children in this age group with chronic diseases, and for those who are in contact with higher-risk persons that cannot be effectively protected by vaccination. They also believe vaccination is reasonable and safe for other children between the ages of five and eleven, paediatrician Denis Baš told the STA on Monday evening.
The group had previously recommended vaccinating children over the age of 12 as well, especially those suffering from chronic diseases, following the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children in May.
Support for vaccinating children was also expressed by Slovenian paediatricians in a survey conducted between 25 November and 5 December, whose results have shown that 77% of them had already decided to vaccinate their own children against Covid-19, while another 9% planned to do so.
Baš said that vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 could start on Tuesday, when the vaccines in smaller and less concentrated doses specially adapted for children will become available at vaccination sites.
