In Poland, children from the age of 12 and above have been offered the possibility to be administered two doses of the Pfizer vaccine since June. It is believed that over 1.6 million have already done so. 

From the 13th of December, Pfizer jabs are now available for children aged 5 to 11. In barely 24 hours, over 100,000 children from this age were registered for COVID-19 vaccines. In a recent tweet, the Health Ministry underlined that more than half of the registered children are aged 9 or above.  

The Polish government had announced this new regulation in early December. Interestingly, Poland’s Health Minister Adam Niedzielski encouraged parents to register their children for the jab as a “present” before Christmas, as Polsat News reported. 

Amid the reticence of some parents regarding the vaccination of children, government officials referred to “scientific data that prove the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine in the youngest” and urged parents to make “fully informed” decisions.

The registration can be made via a telephone hotline, online or by text message. The child’s parent (or another legal guardian) must complete the registration form and also be present for the Pfizer injection. 

“Vaccines are not only effective protection but also a chance to continue school education throughout the year,” said the letter. It noted that vaccinated school pupils and preschoolers will not be required to quarantine for 10 days when a case of COVID-19 is detected in their class.

As of yesterday, due to coronavirus outbreaks, 24% of primary schools and 20% of secondary schools have had to switch to full or partial online learning, according to education ministry data.

Poland is not the only country that has taken that route. In Hungary for example, nearly 40.000 parents have registered their children for the jab so far.

Even though most children do not become seriously ill from the Covid-19, they can still infect other people running a higher risk such as the elderly. New data gathered by Reuters shows that children now account for the majority of Covid not only in Germany but also in Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands.

As of the 15th of December, around 54 per cent of Poles are fully vaccinated, which contrasts with the UK where this figure amounts to almost 69 per cent of the total population. 

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen

Photo: Unsplash