Gino, 7, was waiting “nervous”, because he is afraid of needles. His mother, Carmen, was relieved. The vaccination of children and young people against covid-19 is underway in Venezuela amid skepticism.
“There are mothers who do not want to,” he told the AFP Carmen Gardinella while waiting for Gino to receive a dose of the Chinese vaccine Sinovac on Caracas, in a branch of a private chain of pharmacies.
“We mothers are afraid, like all of us, because it is something new, but it must be more scary that (the child) gets sick,” continued this 41-year-old lawyer.
The vaccination plan of minors against covid-19 in this South American country is carried out in two age groups: the children from 2 to 11 years began to be inoculated on Monday and, previously, the youth from 12 to 17 they began to be immunized on October 25. The measure matches the back to face-to-face classes after being suspended for a year and a half due to the pandemic.
Carmen, who lost an uncle to the virus, learned about the vaccination of children through a message sent to parents at the school where a nephew studies: “I found out ten minutes ago and came quickly.”
Francis Sánchez, a 37-year-old publicist, went to the scene with her two children, ages 9 and 6, after seeing a publication of the pharmacy chain on Instagram: “I feel calmer” to “send them to school with more security.”
Lack of clear official communication and cross-information have marked the process.
It is not easy to find the vaccination points enabled for children from 2 to 11 years old, as different centers visited by the AFP have not yet received the green light, according to their officials.
The government of Socialist President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday that the immunization against covid-19 of minors in this age group it would start in educational centers with Cuba vaccines, giving priority to boys with special conditions that affect their immune system.
Vice President Delcy Rodríguez reported on state television that, in principle, the Cuban Soberana 2 vaccine would be used and that in the coming days another drug from the caribbean island, Abdala; which was criticized by the local medical union.
In a statement, the National Academy of Medicine it expressed “concern” over the government’s decision to apply what it called “prototypes.”
Cuban vaccines have not been endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, meanwhile, is used to vaccinate young people between 12 and 17 years of age.
“I missed seeing my classmates’ faces,” said 12-year-old Mauris, after being vaccinated at the Andrés Bello public high school, in the center of Caracas, where he started high school. “I was waiting for this for him, because it is important that they are vaccinated“, expressed at the same time his mother, Damni Alcoba, a 47-year-old housewife.
Venezuela, with 30 million inhabitants, it accounts for about 5,000 deaths from covid-19 and 400,000 cases according to official figures, questioned by organizations such as Human Rights Watch considering that there is a high underreporting.
Maduro assured on Sunday that 70% of the population has been vaccinated, although the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) estimates that only a third have received two doses.
MJVR
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