Denmark begins vaccinating children

The first pediatric doses will be administered this weekend

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Vaccinations for children 5 to 11 years old will begin this weekend in Denmark. In a press conference Friday, the Deputy Director of Denmark’s National Board of Health, Helen Probst, says they recommend young children get vaccinated. Yesterday, the European Medicines Agency recommended the Pfizer/BioNTech pediatric vaccine be approved for use to vaccinate young children across Europe.

Helen Probst says the first invitations for parents to begin booking vaccination appointments for their children will go out on Saturday.

“We have done everything we can to keep schools open with tests and preventive initiatives, but with the infection numbers it is not enough. It is having a serious impact on both children and their parents. The vaccines can help the children get their normal everyday life back. If the vaccination of children is to have an effect this school year., it is crucial to start as soon as possible. That is why we will send out invitations as early as Saturday.”

Probst says the National Health Board along with an expert group, reviewed all the data on the Pfizer/BioNTech pediatric vaccine and found it to be safe and effective for children.

“It has already been used to vaccinate several million children around the world. It is a vaccine that we have an enormous amount of knowledge about and an enormous amount of experience with. Personally, I would not stand here and recommend the vaccine to healthy children if it was not the one I was most comfortable with. I'm vaccinated myself. I have three children, and I would not stand here and recommend it if I myself was not completely confident that it was safe.”

She says getting children vaccinated will help reduce infection spread and be a big step towards increasing herd immunity within the population.

“By vaccinating the children, we reduce the risk that they may infect their siblings, their parents, or grandparents, which in turn increases infections in schools, institutions, and among their parents, who then take the infection to their workplace.”

The Head of the Danish Medicines Agency, Lars Bo Nielsen, says the data from clinical trials show that there haven’t been any new serious side effects among children from the vaccine.

“In clinical trials, which are the basis for the approval of the vaccine, no serious side effects have been seen in the 3,000 children involved.”

The National Health Board says vaccination invitations will be sent to parents with the oldest children first and then work their way down. The invitation will come with links to booklets and other resources to help better inform parents. Health Board Deputy Director Helen Probst says if parents have any concerns they should talk to their family doctor.

“It is the parents who have to make the decision, and of course we have respect for their decision.”

Region Hovedstaden says it will begin vaccinating children in Metro Copenhagen as of Sunday. The pediatric vaccinations will initially only be available at the vaccination center in Amager, which will be staffed with health professionals who are experienced in working with children.

Deputy Director of the Emergency Management Agency Helene Bliddal Døssing:

“Once parents have decided that their child needs to be vaccinated, they can safely come down to us and be assured that the vaccination will be a pleasant and calm experience. We have brought together all the staff who are experienced in working with children, such as nurses.”

The region says staff are already busy buying small toys and outfitting special children’s rooms to prepare for Sunday.

“We will take our time and talk to the child so that we can establish a good rapport before we give the shot. Should a crisis arise where the mother and father can’t comfort their child, then we can offer a 'timeout' or possibly reschedule for another day. In any event, the child will get a small reward.”

The Staten Serum Institut said Thursday that children aged six to 11 years have the highest infection rates of any age group. A number of schools have either been ordered to close or have had to send classes home due to outbreaks, with thousands of new infections among children each week.

The National Health Board has posted information for parents on its websites addressing their concerns on any number of issues. You can find it in Danish HERE.