The Ministry of Health noted the voluntariness in the vaccination of adolescents against COVID-19

A written application and the voluntary informed consent of the parents of adolescents from 12 to 17 years of age to be vaccinated against CORONAVIRUS will guarantee the voluntary nature of vaccination. This was stated to RBC by the chief freelance pediatric specialist in preventive medicine of the Russian Ministry of HEALTH, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Leila Namazova-Baranova.

“Adolescents from 12 to 17 years old will be vaccinated only upon a written application from their parents and, in addition to it, a written voluntary informed consent of the parents or the adolescents themselves if they are already 15 years old. This guarantees the voluntary nature of vaccination,” Namazova-Baranova said.

She noted that adolescents, just like adults, can experience severe cases of covid, up to death. "This is especially true for adolescents at risk - those with chronic diseases, overweight and obesity, receiving immunosuppressive therapy," the DOCTOR said.

After suffering from coronavirus, according to her, children may still have disorders in the cardiovascular system, neurological problems, and cognitive dysfunctions. “Vaccination helps to avoid the severe consequences of complications from covid-19 disease , and also significantly reduces the risk of developing multisystem inflammatory syndrome and post-covid syndrome in adolescents,” she added.