Healthy young kids invited to get vaccinated against Covid

Healthy children aged 5 to 11 will be invited to get vaccinated against Covid-19 from Tuesday. Their parents will receive a letter with information about making an appointment.

The first injections are expected to happen next week. Children will receive a "child dose" of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Children from the same family will be vaccinated together if there is room to do so and their parents want to. Parents must make a separate appointment for each child.

Almost 1.3 million children in the Netherlands can get the Covid-19 jab. Healthy children will get the second shot eight weeks after the first one. For vulnerable children aged 5 to 11, the time between the two vaccinations is shorter at four weeks.

Vulnerable kids could already get vaccinated against Covid-19. This involves children with, for example, a congenital heart defect or Down syndrome. They may be at greater risk if they get the coronavirus.