Den Haag: The Dutch government clears the road on Friday for children aged 5-11 to be vaccinated against Covid-19, expanding its inoculation program to age groups that have the highest level of infection in the recent surge.
This program will begin in mid-January, the Ministry of Health said.
Children will get a shooting of pfizer vaccines with lower doses than adults and it’s up to their parents whether they are vaccinated.
The government emphasizes that most children infected with Coronavirus only develop mild symptoms, but a small number can be seriously ill.
The European Medicine Agency gave a green light last month for a smaller dose of the Pfizer vaccine for use for children aged 5-11.
Dutch Covid-19 infection jumped to record last month’s level, tiring a health care system and forced the government to impose partial locking which means bars, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, and shops that sell non-essential items must be closed at 5 pm.
Infection has decreased slightly because locking starts but remains high.
Acceptance to the intensive care unit is also still high but reduced.