World - Europe
Updated: November 17, 2022

COVID-19: German Vaccine Panel Recommends Shot Only For Sick Small Children

By Quadri Adejumo
November 17, 2022
0

Germany’s vaccine advisory panel on Thursday recommended that Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine should only be for small children.

The advisory panel said the shots should be for children from six months to four years and should only be given routinely to those at risk of severe disease from the infection.

The head of the panel of 18 appointees, known as STIKO, said there was no clear case for broad use, citing a lack of data to rule out any rare side effects.

The recommendation also covers a version of Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine for the age group but that product is in short supply in Germany at the moment, the expert panel said.

STIKO president Thomas Mertens said; “everything that is done in medicine should have an indication that is as clear as possible."