Sweden decides against recommending COVID vaccines for kids

Sweden’s Health Agency on Thursday has decided against recommending COVID vaccines for children aged 5 to 11, claiming that the benefits do not outweigh the hazards.

“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 told a news conference. Reuters reported.

Britta noted that if the research changed or if a new variant changed the pandemic, the decision may be reconsidered. The vaccination is already available to children in high-risk groups.

Despite limited testing, Sweden recorded almost 40,000 new cases on Jan. 26, one of the highest day counts throughout the pandemic. While daily infection records have been shattered in the fourth wave, healthcare is not under the same strain as in prior waves.

On Thursday, 101 COVID patients required critical care, far fewer than the more than 400 patients who required treatment in spring 2021. Since the pandemic began, almost 16,000 people in Sweden have died from COVID.