A man waits to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Berlin, capital of Germany, on Feb. 2, 2022. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua)
Until now, COVID-19 vaccination in this age group has only been recommended for those with pre-existing conditions or for high-risk contacts. Twenty-two percent of the 5.3 million children aged between 5 and 11 years in Germany have already been vaccinated at least once, according to the RKI.
BERLIN, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The German Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on Tuesday extended its general COVID-19 vaccination recommendation to children between the ages of 5 and 11 with only one vaccine dose.
The committee's official recommendation has been updated as a "precautionary measure" because another COVID-19 wave is projected to hit Germany in the autumn or winter, it said in a statement.
Germany's Professional Association of Pediatricians (BVKJ) and other scientific societies welcomed the announcement. The new recommendation looks beyond the current situation and "anticipates the further development of the pandemic," their joint statement said.
A woman with a child in her arms looks out of a window in Berlin, capital of Germany, April 6, 2020. (Photo by Binh Truong/Xinhua)
Until now, COVID-19 vaccination in this age group has only been recommended for those with pre-existing conditions or for high-risk contacts.
Twenty-two percent of the 5.3 million children aged between 5 and 11 years in Germany have already been vaccinated at least once, according to the RKI.
In April, the German Bundestag (lower house of Parliament) rejected a proposal by the government to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for adults aged 60 years or older.
A vaccine mandate for all adults above the age of 18 was not up for vote because the proposal failed to win enough political support.
Two children are seen during the balloon festival at Rheinaue leisure park in Bonn, Germany, on June 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Lu Yang)
According to RKI data, 22.4 percent of the population in Germany remain unvaccinated. There is still no licensed vaccine available in the country for children under age four. ■
