Covid-19: Ecuador to vaccinate children from 5 years old in mid-October

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Ecuador will start vaccinating children from the age of five against Covid-19 in mid-October, said the Minister of Public Health, Ximena Garzón, in an interview with Efe on Thursday (23).

“We are going to start vaccinating from the age of five from the second week of October,” said the health minister, specifying that until then, the current program will continue to administer anti-covid doses from the age of 12 onwards.

Ecuador has so far vaccinated 79% of the population over 16 years of age (12.4 million out of a total of 17.5 million), according to official data provided by the Ministry of Public Health (MSP).

In addition, more than 200,000 minors between 12 and 15 years of age have already received a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, according to the Deputy Minister of Health, José Ruales, on Monday.

For the 5 to 11 year-olds, the minister spoke of three strategies: the usual MSP centers and vaccination points in the main cities, and another that seeks to integrate some supermarket chains in which “stable brigades” are deployed where adults and minors can be vaccinated.