The Ministry of Public Health issued this Monday resolution No. 00006-2022 with which it regulates and enables the administration of the Coronavac vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Sinovac in children older than five years.
“The vaccination scheme for the disease is enabled COVID-19 in people over five years of age, which will begin, in this first stage, with the application of two doses of the Coronavac vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Sinovac”, indicates the document.
Vaccination against COVID-19 in children between five and 11 years old it officially begins next Monday in public and private educational centers.
However, the Minister of Public Health, Daniel Rivera, explained a few days ago that children can also receive the biological in the vaccination centers that have been used for general inoculation.
Two dose schedule
The vaccine will be applied in a two-dose scheme with a period between inoculations of 28 days, clarifies the resolution.
The authorities decided to apply the Chinese vaccine Sinovacof 1.5, “because it is from an attenuated virus as a classic and typical way with which the vaccine is placed in children” and has also been used in children over five years of age in 18 countries.
The entity recommends all providers of health services and medical care at the national level, both public and private, to accept the guidelines of the resolution, in order to recommend that everyone of the prescribed age be inoculated against COVID-19.
For inoculation in this age group, parents or guardians must issue a signed consent. Vaccination will be carried out on a voluntary basis.
Vaccine Safety
According to a study conducted by Sinovac at the end of last year, the vaccine is safe for children and young people between 3 and 17 years old.
The randomized, placebo-controlled phase III study was conducted in South Africa, Chile, Malaysia and the Philippines and included 2,140 children aged 6 months to 17 years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccinating children can help protect family members, including siblings who are not eligible to be vaccinated and family members who may be older. risk of getting seriously ill if they become infected. Vaccination can also help prevent children from getting seriously ill, even if they get COVID-19. It has been shown that the omicron variant affects minors more than the others of COVID-19. Vaccinating children 5 years of age and older can help keep them in school and help them safely participate in sports, games, and other group activities.
