Argentina approves Sinopharm vaccine for children aged 3 to 11

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “It is a big step in our vaccination campaign and is added to the adolescent vaccination ramp-up we have planned for October,” Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said at a joint press conference with her Education counterpart Jaime Perczyk.

Some 5.5 to 6 million children between the ages of 3 and 11 are eligible for vaccination, with Argentina stocked with almost 10 million doses of Sinopharm and expecting 2.75 million to be delivered next week.

Sinopharm’s immunizer is administered in two doses, with a 28-day interval.

“Argentina will end 2021 with its whole population over the age of 3 protected” against the coronavirus, the Minister pledged.

Vizzotti explained that the results of phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in children in China and the United Arab Emirates were considered for the approval, as well as the experience in Chile, where another “same platform” vaccine is used in this age group.

Argentina recently began immunizing 5 million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 with Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines. As of Friday, a total of some 22.4 million people have completed their vaccination schedule (49.7% of the total population), and another 7.4 million have been administered the first dose.

The government intends to use the Covid-19 campaign to complete the mandatory vaccine schedule of schoolchildren, which has been interrupted in many cases since March 2020 amid the confinement due to the pandemic.

“These vaccines can be administered together, it will be a great opportunity to restore vaccination plans,” Vizzotti said.

For several weeks now, Argentina has been registering a substantial drop in daily Covid-19 infections and deaths, figures for Friday stood at 1,564 new cases and 48 deaths, prompting a marked reopening of activities.

With a population of 45 million, Argentina has recorded a total of 5.5 million infections and just over 115,000 deaths since the pandemic began.