Cuba has become the first country in the world to begin CoV vaccination for young children. Yesterday, authorities in Cienfuegos province began vaccinations for the two- to 11-year-old age group. The children receive the vaccines Abdala and Soberana, developed in Cuba, but not recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). Children as young as twelve have been vaccinated since Friday.
Schools closed at least until October
Due to the pandemic, Cuba’s schools have been closed most of the time since March 2020. Yesterday, the new school year began – via television, because only a few households in the communist-ruled Caribbean country have an Internet connection. Authorities plan to gradually reopen schools starting in October, if all eligible children and teenagers have received their vaccination shots by then.
Many other countries around the world are now also vaccinating children as young as 12, and some are conducting tests with younger children. China, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela have announced plans to have younger children regularly vaccinated soon – though Cuba is the first country with a widespread vaccination campaign for young children.
The spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus has pushed Cuba’s health care system to the breaking point. Of the total of about 5,700 deaths from the pandemic in the island nation, nearly half were recorded in August alone.
— source: orf.at/picture:pixabay.com
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