Vaccination of children from 5 to 11 years old begins on October 18

The Minister of Public Health, Ximena Garzón, announced, through a statement, that as of Monday, October 18, the doses of the vaccine against covid-19 will be applied to children between 5 and 11 years old. 

The vaccination schedule was defined to immunize this segment of the population.

“We take into account global evidence and international recommendations,” said the Health Authority, during the conversation with representatives of the media.

The strategy will be progressive. According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Public Health (MSP), children from 6 to 11 years old, 11 months and 29 days old will receive the Sinovac vaccine in a two-dose schedule and at an interval of 28 days. While children from 5 years to 5 years with 11 months and 29 days will be inoculated with Pfizer.

In the first instance, the population aged 6 to 11 will be vaccinated and then to those aged 5 years. The exact start date of this last group will depend on the vaccination rate.

In total, there are two million minors who will be immunized against the virus. They will have three spaces to complete this process. The first will be in educational institutions. The second will be in the health centers; and the third, in the massive inoculation points.

In Quito, for example, there are two: the Bicentennial Convention Center, in the north of the city, and the Provincial Council Institute, in the south.

To access the biological, 5-year-old infants must have their complete regular vaccination chart. That is, the booster vaccines to prevent Diphtheria, Mumps and Tetanus (DPT) and Poliomyelitis (Antipoliomyelitis bOPB). After a month of these vaccines, they can be inoculated against COVID-19.