Chile to Vaccinate Kids 6 to 11 with Medical Conditions Against COVID-19, First Country In The World To Do So

Santiago, September 9: Chile will resume its vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) next week by vaccinating adolescents aged 14 to 17, and children aged 6 to 11 with underlying medical conditions, Deputy Minister of Public Health Paula Daza said Wednesday.

"Between Monday, Sept. 13 and Thursday, Sept. 16, all adolescents between 14 and 17 years of age can be vaccinated at the Cesfams (Family Health Community Centers) ... as well as minors between 6 and 11 years of age with specific comorbidities," Daza told reporters.

Chile is among the first countries in the world to begin vaccinating children, so "this is important news for protecting them," said Daza. Chile's Institute of Public Health on Monday approved the emergency use of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, for children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age, in order to combat COVID-19. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Urges Halt to COVID-19 Booster Shots for Rest of the Year.

Before the announcement, children ages 12 and up in Chile were being vaccinated against COVID-19 with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. According to the latest data released by the Health Ministry, 13,207,294 people in Chile have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with two doses or a single-dose vaccine, representing 86.89 per cent of the target population of some 15.2 million people.

In the South American nation, 26,419,036 doses of vaccines against COVID-19 have been administered, mainly CoronaVac. Chile has in recent weeks reported its lowest numbers of new daily cases of the disease thanks to social distancing measures adopted and the ongoing vaccination campaign.

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