Vaccinate young children with serious medical conditions, health council says

The Dutch health council is recommending that children between the ages of six months and six years be vaccinated against coronavirus if they have serious medical conditions.

Currently vaccinations are offered to all children over the age of five.

The European Medicines Agency has recently approved the use of the Moderna and Biontech/Pfizer vaccines for children up to the age of six and the Dutch health council said on Tuesday that these mRNA vaccines ensure ‘a good immune response’ in young children.

Because the infection is generally mild in children, vaccinations are only being recommended for children who are more at risk. ‘This could mean children with Down’s syndrome or with serious heart, immune or lung problems,’ the health council said.

Health council recommendations are almost always adopted by the government.

Currently everyone in the Netherlands is being urged to get a top up vaccination, but the take up rate is low. Only 22% of everyone eligible over the age of 12 has had a repeat vaccination, as have 52% of the over 60s.