"We have to protect children because the virus is coming on strong," Alberto Marciaga, the father of a 10-year-old girl who received her initial dose of
Marciaga's daughter suffers from polycystic kidney disease, an inherited disorder in which clusters of cysts develop primarily within a person's kidneys and cause those organs to enlarge and lose function over time, according to the
"She was a bit nervous about the vaccine but they administered it to her ... I feel more at ease. She says her arm hurts a little bit," said Marciaga, who has other older children who are already vaccinated.
Vaccines are being offered to children at national and regional public hospitals, as well as at four private health centers in
Selmibet Herrera, the mother of an 11-year-old boy with leukemia, said she thought "several times" about whether or not to vaccinate her son against Covid-19 before finally "trusting in God and in the doctors that everything would be fine."
"I consulted with the hematologist, the pediatrician, and they both recommended that I have him vaccinated, and so I brought him on the first day," she told Efe.
The head of the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr.
But "I can tell you with the certainty that scientific information provides that the vaccine (the Pfizer-BioNTech two-dose series for kids aged five to 11) is safe, immunogenic and effective," Ortega-Barria, a pediatric infectious disease expert, said.
Authorities are seeking to vaccinate the largest possible number of children prior to the start of the new school year on
That is a sharp increase relative to the fewer than 500 new confirmed cases per day a month ago, although the surge has not triggered a rise in deaths or hospitalizations.
Through Thursday, the country had reported a total of 512,402 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic there nearly 22 months ago and 7,449 Covid-19 deaths.
Health authorities are relying on vaccinations and other protective measures such as masks and physical distancing to combat the current Omicron-driven coronavirus wave in
Currently, 81.6 percent of the 12-and-over population has received a two-dose Covid-19 vaccine series and 90.6 percent have received a single dose. A total of 424,564 booster shots, authorized for people 16 and older, also have been administered.
Taking into account
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