Germany Recommends Only Children with Pre-Existing Conditions Receive COVID-19 Vaccination

Reuters reported that Germany’s vaccine advisory committee recommended on June 10, 2021, only adolescents with pre-existing conditions should be given the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

Furthermore, Germany's doctors and patients should make informed decisions regarding vaccination exceptions to this new recommendation.

A meta-analysis published on April 27, 2021, by researchers at the German Diabetes Center found obese men with diabetes were 28% more likely to die from COVID-19.

The Munich-based Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) is an independent advisory group that develops national recommendations for the use of licensed vaccines. STIKO recommendations are not legally binding, but by German law, they form the basis for the federal states’ vaccination guidance and the Federal Joint Committee’s vaccination directive.

BioNTech SE was the initial developer of the COVID-19 vaccine and is based in Mainz, Germany.

In the USA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued emergency authorization to include people 12 years and older in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination program without limitation on May 10, 2021. And the European Medicines Agency issued authorization for this age group on May 28, 2021.