Routine SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination for all children

The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented health and economic losses. Children generally present with less severe disease from this virus compared with adults, yet neonates and children with COVID‐19 can require hospitalization, and older children can develop severe complications, such as the multisystem inflammatory syndrome, resulting in >1500 deaths in children from COVID‐19 since the onset of the pandemic. The introduction of effective SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccines in school‐age children and adult populations combined with the emergence of new, more highly transmissible SARS‐CoV‐2 variants has resulted in a proportional increase of infections in young children. Here, we discuss (1) the current knowledge on pediatric SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and pathogenesis in comparison with adults, (2) the data on vaccine immunogenicity and efficacy in children, and (3) the benefits of early life SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccination.