Although other countries have said they will end up vaccinating children, it is believed that Cuba will be the first to give Covid-19 vaccines to young children. In September, he stated that his self-produced vaccines were safe to give to young children.
Throughout the pandemic, most face-to-face classes have been suspended on the island. Instead of going to school, children watch educational programs on television for hours every day. The domestic Internet remains a rarity in the communist-run nation.
Cuba has largely focused on developing its own vaccines, rather than relying on other countries to obtain the drugs. Local scientists say vaccines made in Cuba are safe and effective, but so far they have provided little data to outside observers. The government has said it will seek WHO approval for its vaccines.
To date, according to the Cuban Ministry of Health, more than four million people have been completely vaccinated. The government has not said how many children have been vaccinated, but has said it started a pediatric vaccination campaign this week in Cienfuegos province, where the health system has faced terrible deficits with a sharp rise in new cases and deaths.
The Cuban government also said it hoped to vaccinate more than 90 percent of the population of 11.2 million people before reopening international borders in mid-November.
Initially, the government said it would focus on vaccinating health workers, the elderly and the hardest hit areas. But after an increase in childhood infections that are believed to have been caused by the Delta variant, the government announced it would also prioritize vaccination of young children.
“With the increase in positive cases of Covid-19 in children, the family needs to be protected more and therefore we are protecting our children and adolescents,” said the island’s chief epidemiologist, Francisco Duran Garcia.
So far, Cuba has recorded 6,056 coronavirus deaths, but officials recently admitted the toll could be much higher.