Stickers and superheroes: EU starts vaccinating kids 5-11

By DEREK GATOPOULOS and NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece, Italy and a handful of other European Union members have began vaccinating children ages 5-11 against COVID-19 as governments braced for both holiday season and the quickly spreading omicron variant. Acrobats dressed as superheroes rappelled down the walls of a hospital in Italy. Youngsters in Greece who got vaccine shots were given stickers and the day off school. Spain and Hungary also expanded their vaccination programs to younger children. EU regulators last month approved a reduced-dose vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech for use in the 5-11 age group. Poland, Portugal, Croatia and Slovenia plan to lower their vaccine eligibility age later this week. Some European nations are moving more slowly: Britain has not yet authorized vaccines for kids under 12.