DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE COVID-19 VACCINE FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign for children aged 5 to 11 years begins on 15 December and has been approved by the national health authorities with the support of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

Following an increase in COVID-19 incidence to more than 300 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in mid-December, health authorities decided to extend vaccination to children within this age group. The vaccine administered will be the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, given as two doses eight weeks apart.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE COVID-19 VACCINE FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN?

Children aged 5 to 11 years will receive the same Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as adults. However, there are two key differences.

The first is the dosage. Children receive 10 micrograms per dose, compared with 30 micrograms administered to adults.

The second difference is the interval between doses. For children under 12 years of age, the two doses are administered eight weeks apart, whereas the standard interval for adults was three weeks. This longer interval is intended to enhance the immune response in younger children.

APPOINTMENTS FOR CHILDREN BORN IN 2010, 2011 AND 2012

From Monday, 13 December, parents or legal guardians could book vaccination appointments for children aged 9, 10 and 11 years.

Vaccination appointments were scheduled primarily during afternoons and weekends to make attendance easier for families. Vaccinations were carried out at local primary healthcare centres, although mobile vaccination units were also deployed, and in some rural areas vaccinations were organised directly at schools.