Tuesday, the Dutch health council announced that the Netherlands will begin offering COVID-19 vaccinations to all children aged between 12 and 17.

The council said that this came to prevent a new COVID-19 wave.

The council also said children as young as 12 should be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, as it was authorized in May for use on children from the age of 12 by the European Commission.

“Taking everything into account we advise to offer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to all 12-to-17-year-olds who want one,” the council said.

A vaccination can help protect children against rare cases in which contracting the coronavirus makes them seriously ill, the council added.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the Netherlands has confirmed 1,684,366 cases and 17,745 deaths.