As children and adolescents around Europe prepare to return to school after the summer break, the European Academy of Paediatrics calls for their vaccination against COVID-19 in order to achieve herd immunity and stop the pandemic.
Preliminary studies carried out have shown that the vaccination of children and adolescents is highly effective and safe.
In a joint statement published today in Frontiers, the European Academy of Paediatrics (EAP) and the European Confederation of Primary Care Paediatricians (ECPCP) stress the numerous health benefits provided by the vaccination of children and adolescents against COVID-19, including the return to regular paediatric care and routine vaccinations against other infectious diseases, which were severely disrupted during the pandemic.
Vaccinating children and adolescents will also drive their regular school learning and peer interaction, which is vital to reverse the educational, developmental and psychological problems caused by the lockdown of over 1.5 billion young people worldwide.
The joint statement also presents recommendations to foster immunity and address vaccination in children and adolescents. Among others, EAP recommends that the vaccination of children and adolescents against COVID-19 should be promoted and encouraged worldwide, and paediatric associations should develop national strategies of vaccination into existing
vaccination schedules.
Although COVID-19 infection in children is rarely severe, a newly described syndrome (pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome) has been observed shortly after infection. Preliminary evidence also shows that long-standing effects of COVID-19 may be seen up to 6 months after infection (including fatigue, muscle and joint pain, insomnia, respiratory problems, and
palpitations).
Read the joint statement of the EAP and the ECPCP HERE
More information on the EAP “Vaccinate your child” campaign HERE
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