The General Directorate of Health (DGS) today recommended the vaccination of children between five and 11 years old, with priority given to those with diseases considered to be at risk for severe Covid-19.
In a statement, the DGS says that this recommendation follows the position of the Technical Commission on Vaccination against Covid-19 (CTVC), which considered, based on available data, that the benefit-risk assessment, from an individual and health perspective public, is in favor of vaccinating children in this age group.
According to the department led by Graça Freitas, children in this age group will receive the Comirnaty vaccine, from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which has a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to be administered in this age group.
“The number of new Covid-19 cases in children has been increasing. The disease in these age groups is generally mild, but there are severe forms of Covid-19 in children”, adds the DGS.
According to the statement, the risk of hospitalization is greater in children with at-risk illnesses, however, many of the admissions occur in children without at-risk illnesses.
“For this position, the contributions of a group of specialists in pediatrics and child health, as well as advisory members of the CTVC were considered”, says the DGS.
On Friday, the DGS and the Support Coordination Nucleus to the Ministry of Health will provide additional technical clarification and on the vaccination schedule and respective logistics at a press conference.
The incidence of coronavirus infections in children under 10 years of age has been increasing since the end of October, being the age group with the highest value in the last week.
According to the latest pandemic risk analysis by health authorities, released on Friday, the age group with the highest cumulative incidence of 14 days corresponded to children between zero and 10 years old, who were not yet eligible for vaccination against the Covid-19, with 597 cases per 100 inhabitants.
Portugal should receive the first 300 vaccines with pediatric characteristics against Covid-19, from the pharmaceutical consortium BioNTech/Pfizer, on December 13, announced on Monday the Assistant Secretary of State and Health.
“About 300 vaccines will arrive on December 13th and then, during the month of January, another 400 vaccines will arrive, which, for this population, will be enough”, said António Lacerda Sales in Constância (Santarém), noting that this is a "different vaccination in that it is a single dose of 10 micrograms, about a third of the adult dose".
On November 25, at a press conference after the Council of Ministers, the prime minister, António Costa, said that the Government had already contracted the supply of pediatric vaccines with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer and that it guarantees coverage for more than 637 children. in this age group.
Comments