Benefits do not outweigh the risks.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Swedish Health Agency announced on Thursday that it will not be recommending children ages 5-11 get a Covid-19 vaccination, arguing the benefits do not outweigh the risks, Reuters reports.
- The agency said in a press release Thursday that the medical benefit for an individual child aged 5-11 who has received a general vaccination against COVID-19 “is currently small,” and that while the situation is being “constantly” assessed, it has decided against recommending a general vaccination of children under 12 years for the spring term of 2022, FOX News reports.
- Karin Tegmark Wisell, director general of the agency, said an updated guidance would be provided prior to the fall term, the press release said.
- “A general vaccination from the age of 5 is also not expected to have any major effect on the spread of infection at present, neither in the group of children aged 5–11 nor among other groups in the population,” the release said.
KEY QUOTE FROM SWEDEN’S HEALTH AGENCY:
“With the knowledge we have today, with a low risk for serious disease for kids, we don’t see any clear benefit with vaccinating them,” Health Agency official Britta Bjorkholm said during a news conference.
BACKGROUND:
- Sweden experienced relatively low death and hospitalization numbers while pursuing a less alarmist response to the virus, one Business Insider report saying, “Sweden broke with most of the rest of the world and never mandated that people wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic.”
- An official from The Public Health Agency of Sweden said the decision could be revisited if the research changed or if a new variant changed the pandemic.
- Over 8 million American children aged 5-11 have already received the experimental Covid-19 vaccine.
- Dr. Anthony Fauci revealed Wednesday his desire to see Americans four and under receive a “three-dose regimen” of coronavirus shots (see video below).
