Germany child vaccination: herd immunity against the coronavirus will probably be impossible to achieve without vaccinating children and adolescents, according to the German Society for Immunology (DGfI), the dpa reported on Tuesday.
“It is usually assumed that there will be collective immunity when between 60% and 70% of the population is protected against the pathogen. But that means the pathogen can’t multiply in those people, “DGfI Vice President Reinhold Foerster was quoted as saying by Funke Media Group.
Foerster said that there is a different problem with Sars- Cov-2: people can transmit the virus, even if they themselves are not sick, even if they are vaccinated and have no symptoms.
The occurrence of the delta variant has intensified the situation. “It simply came to our notice then. It affects teenagers and children a lot, “he said.
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“As long as this age group is not vaccinated at all or vaccinated only a little, we will not achieve collective immunity,” DGfI Vice President Reinhold Foerster also said.
The German Robert Koch Institute (RKI) Â for disease control, at least 85% of the population aged 12-59 and 90% of those aged 60 and over should be fully vaccinated against the Delta variant.
“If this vaccination rate is reached in time, a fourth wave announced next autumn or winter seems unlikely,” according to an RKI document released Monday.
So far, the Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko) has not issued a general vaccination recommendation for children under 12 years of age and there is no approved vaccine for children under 12 years of age.