The individual direct benefits from Covid-19 vaccination in adolescents aged 12-15 are expected to be limited in comparison to older age groups, according to a new ECDC report.
This conclusion by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control came days only after the Pfizer vaccine was approved for use in this age group in the EU.
“Given the anticipated reduced individual benefit-risk ratio from Covid-19 vaccination of adolescents compared to older age groups, careful consideration of the epidemiological situation and of vaccine uptake in older age groups should be given before targeting this age group,” the report said.
“As the course of Covid-19 disease is typically milder in healthy adolescents, vaccine uptake in older age groups should continue to be given priority before targeting adolescents as a whole,” it added.
Published on Tuesday, the report also said that unlike adults most adolescents aged 12 to 15 with coronavirus have mild symptoms and very low risk of death.
And that vaccination of teenagers that are at high risk of severe Covid-19 should be prioritized in the same way as vaccination of all people at high risk of severe disease in other age groups.
The report also stressed the importance of continuing to monitor the spread of variants of concern among younger individuals, and to assess long-term effects of Covid-19.
