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Have corona vaccines been tested on young people? What side effects can young people expect? And who decides whether a child may be get vaccinated? During the 'Junior corona lecture: questions about vaccines', CBG president Ton de Boer, ethicist/philosopher Naomi van Steenbergen and pediatrician Patricia Bruijning will answer questions about corona vaccines from secondary school students. The lecture will be offered in Dutch only.

On Monday 12 July 2021, the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (CBG) and the Utrecht University (ÀÖÓãºǫ́) organize the 'Junior corona lecture: questions about vaccines'. The lectures takes place in response to an advice of the Health Council of the Netherlands. The council recommends to offer vaccines against COVID-19 to healthy children aged 12 and older. 

The junior lecture is intended especially for students aged 12 to 16 (and their parents). The lecturers are Prof Ton de Boer (chairman of the CBG and professor at the ÀÖÓãºǫ́), Naomi van Steenbergen (ethicist and philosopher, ÀÖÓãºǫ́) and (pediatrician and epidemiologist, UMC Utrecht). During the lecture, the children will learn about what a vaccine does to their bodies, the pros and cons of vaccination when they are young, and the extent to which they can decide for themselves whether they want to be vaccinated. The lecture will be conducted in Dutch.

Live stream and Q&A

The Junior corona lecture is streamed from a large lecture hall at Utrecht University. A group of pupils from secondary schools in Utrecht will attend the lecture. Through the CBG's YouTube channel any student can also watch live at home or in their classroom. During the lecture, online viewers will also have the opportunity to ask questions via the live chat.

Corona vaccine for ages 12 and up

On 30 June, Minister Hugo de Jonge decided, on the advice of the Health Council of the Netherlands, to also give healthy children aged 12 and over the chance to be vaccinated, including them in the Dutch corona vaccination programme. They can be vaccinated with the vaccines that have been approved for this age group. The evaluation committee of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has already approved the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine for use by people aged 12 and up. The Medicines Agency CBG serves this assessment committee on behalf of the Netherlands. The EMA is expected to publish a decision on the Moderna vaccine in July.