Chilean health authorities have approved the use of the Sinovac coronavirus vaccine for children 6 years and older, the first Latin American country to take this step
SANTIAGO, Chile – Chilean health authorities on Monday approved the use of the Sinovac vaccine against coronavirus for children 6 years and older, the first Latin American country to take that step.
Heriberto Garcia, director of the Chilean Institute of Public Health, said the institution approved the new measure by five votes in favor and one against.
Now, the Ministry of Health has to determine the dates and mechanism to start vaccinations.
Approval was taken at a time when the South American nation completely immunized more than three-quarters of its adult population.
Currently, the Catholic University of Chile is conducting a study with 4,000 children aged 3 and 17 to study the effects of Sinovac on them. But Garcia said experts from the Institute of Public Health based their decision on a review of information provided by the Sinovac lab and information published in medical journals.
In Latin America, some countries have only approved the Pfizer vaccine for children 12 years of age and older. China has authorized Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines for children aged 3 to 17 years.
Few regulators around the world have evaluated the safety of COVID-19 shots in children, but approvals are beginning. The United States, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong allow the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children up to 12 years of age.
Chile has reported more than 1.6 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 37,100 deaths.