A total of 48,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived in Croatia on Monday for vaccination of children aged 5-11 and will be distributed to local public health institutions in the coming days.

“Children aged 5-11 will receive the vaccine in two doses, like adults, but the vaccine for children contains a third of the dose for adults,” said the deputy director of the Croatian Public Health Institute (HZJZ), Ivana Pavic-Simetin.

Vaccination is recommended especially for immunocompromised children.

Local public health institutes will organise vaccination through paediatric clinics and school and general medical practitioners.

About 6,400 children aged 12-14 (5.18%) and about 55,000 young people aged 15-19 have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to date.

The HZJZ says that vaccinated children do not need a booster dose, except those immunocompromised who are given an additional dose already a month after the first two doses.

The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children aged 5-11.

Children infected with COVID-19 most often have mild clinical symptoms or have no symptoms at all. Serious cases that require hospitalisation and intensive care are very rare.

No vaccine has been registered so far for children aged below 5, so children in that age group cannot be vaccinated.