The World Health Organization has given a green light to the vaccination of children with coronavirus jabs that are approved for this age group, but said that the global sharing of vaccines should come first.

The WHO, with support of various advisory groups including its Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), said in an interim statement Wednesday that countries should consider the "individual and population benefits" of vaccinating children and adolescents "in their specific epidemiological and social context.”

Full vaccination of the highest risk groups, including giving this group booster doses, needs to be considered before jabbing kids, said the WHO.

The statement comes as countries look to approve vaccinating children under 12. The WHO noted that the jabs that have received these authorizations, such as the U.S.'s approval for BioNTech/Pfizer, "are safe and effective in reducing disease burden in these age groups."

In a review of the available evidence, the WHO found that while children and adolescents experience proportionally fewer cases leading to severe disease and death, they have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 restrictions. It also noted mixed results as to whether this group is infected at the same rate as adults. But, ultimately, the organization states that "reducing intergenerational transmission is an important additional public health objective.”

While concern has been raised about the risk of myocarditis in younger people receiving mRNA vaccines, the WHO observed that the risk of this following COVID-19 infection is higher than the risk after vaccination. 

Despite backing the vaccination of kids, the WHO concluded that as long as there are extreme vaccine shortages in parts of the world "countries that have achieved high vaccine coverage in their high-risk populations should prioritize global sharing of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility before proceeding to vaccination of children and adolescents who are at low risk for severe disease.” 

(With input from agencies)