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Moderna has ready the first dose of the pediatric vaccine for children between 6 and 11 years old to treat covid-19. The vaccine can be applied in this population already after the approval of Resolution no. 1703 of 2022 of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, which allows minors under that age to receive the primary regime and people between 18 and 49 years of age to receive a fourth dose.
The starting biologic for children 6 to 11 years of age is given in a series of 2 doses of 50 micrograms, which is 0.25 micrograms for each application. For its part, the country is still awaiting approval by Invima of the expansion of the indication for the modern pediatric vaccine, for children aged 6 months to 5 years, which is recommended in 2 doses of 25 micrograms each. or 0.12 micrograms.
In the country there are 6,305,562 confirmed cases of covid-19 according to the Ministry of Health, 210,237 are children between 0 months and 9 years and 455,742 between 10 and 19 years. According to data of this same magnitude, 83.3% of the Colombian population received a dose of the covid-19 vaccine, 70.8% of the population has a complete vaccination program and 6% received its reinforcement in Colombia. until 21 September 2022.
Taking into account these figures and the call that has been made by the medical sector, the priority in Colombia is pediatric vaccination. Several efforts have been added to approve vaccination in minors in different countries of the world such as Argentina, Spain, Peru and Canada, among others. Following the validation that received the vaccine, the health agencies have expressed their positive recommendation against Moderna biological.
Indeed, the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has verified that Moderna’s pediatric vaccine is well tolerated in children, respecting its efficacy and safety. In addition to this, the studies that were done in collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Authority for Advanced Biomedical Research and Development (Barda), they were satisfactory and well tolerated by minors.
“The importance of this vaccine lies in the fact that minors have the opportunity to continue their activities reliably. We guarantee its effectiveness and its application to minors. The CHMP has undergone detailed monitoring and recommended our vaccine, which is recognized in Europe. This is why we believe it will bring great benefits to Colombians ”, assured Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna.
Experts say pediatric vaccination against covid-19 in Colombia is a priority because cases can increase due to the omcron subvariants. Furthermore, children were among the most affected, as it was the population that had the least adaptation to social spaces in the midst of the health crisis.
“The pediatric population is currently an important vaccination target for several reasons: it is the population most exposed to the appearance of sub-variants that have eluded our ability to defend ourselves against them; Furthermore, this population is currently the most affected, because it has been the least vaccinated with this appearance of the sub-variants and there is also another important reason and that is that it was the population that took the longest to reopen everything. That is to say, while we adults went back out, to resume our ordinary life, the pediatric population was the last to return and that is why the impact is greater, “says Dr. Wilfrido Coronell, pediatric infectologist at Moderna. .
As of January 2022, there were 3,233,369 children between the ages of 3 and 11 on one dose against covid-19 and 1,224,223 million children on a full regimen. The importance of vaccine approval for children lies in increasing vaccination data and ensuring the immunity of the pediatric population in Colombia with the 2 doses offered by Moderna.
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