- As of October 29, 2021, the FDA authorized the application of Pfizer’s biological in children in the United States.
- After 9 months, the SSa finally approved the biological in Mexico.
- As of June 16, registration will begin to immunize all girls and boys from 5 to 11 years of age.
The request that hundreds of doctors from all over the country made insistently was finally complied with. It is about protecting the child population from Covid-19. It was a long process but finally the Ministry of Health (SSa) decided approve the vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 in Mexico.
The decision was announced today by the Undersecretary of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, at the morning conference. While it occurs when Mexico is in the midst of the fifth wave of the pandemic.
Based on the numbers and the trend of the disease, there are four clear times when there have been spikes in new cases. They all coincide with vacation times when people left their homes to meet their families or to have fun.
The fifth wave of Covid-19 in Mexico
This 2022 the situation has been calmer compared to previous years. One of the most important reasons is the progress in the national vaccination campaign. Until now, the vast majority of adults already have a complete immunization schedule. In fact, some have also received a fourth dose to boost their protection.
The problem is that since the end of May there has been an upward trend throughout the country. For the same reason, doctors have warned of the arrival of the fifth wave of Covid-19 to Mexico. One of the differences with respect to the previous ones is that an increase in new cases is now expected but not in deaths due to immunization.
In this sense, those who are now in greater danger are children for two reasons. The first and most important is because they have not received at least one dose of the biological. While the other is because everyone has already returned to face-to-face classes at all educational levels and that implies the use of transportation and interaction with teachers and classmates.
A decision that took 9 months to be made
Partly because of all of the above, the federal authority finally decided to approve the vaccine for children in Mexico. Starting Thursday, June 16, mothers, fathers, and guardians must register their children at the following link. During this stage, it is planned to immunize all girls and boys from 5 to 11 years of age.
Although this is favorable news, it has not been without criticism. The health professionals themselves have been launched against López-Gatell for the delay in making a decision that seemed obvious from the beginning.
And nine months after the approval of the @US_FDAMexico will only begin with the vaccination of children under 5-11 years of age.
— Xavier Tello (@StratCons) June 14, 2022
In that vein, several recalled that on October 29, 2021, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Pfizer’s biological for application in infants. From that moment on, the pharmaceutical company made an offer to our country for the acquisition of doses for children.
For reasons that cannot be understood, the SSa did not instantly accept the proposal. Similarly, since last year the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for the little ones. It took nine months to finally approve the application of the vaccine for children.
And the phrase of the day is “Finally” .. finally they deigned to recognize that children need to be vaccinated against #COVID19; 7 months after having all the safety and efficacy data of the vaccine #pfizer. I don’t know how they make decisions, but I do know that there were many people
— Lorraine (@lorenardzm) June 14, 2022
Throughout this period, other nations in the region, such as Chile and Argentina, have already started and even concluded the childhood immunization campaign. While in Mexico he is barely planning to start.
Progress in the application of the vaccine in adults
The SSa announced that a total of 53 million 110 thousand 007 people over 18 years of age have received the booster dose. The figure represents an advance of 66 percent of the target population.
The Daily Technical Report reports that, from December 24, 2020 to date, 209 million 030 thousand 212 biologicals have been supplied to 88 million 302 thousand 201 people.
By age, 81 million 092 thousand 526 people over 18 years of age have at least one dose, which is equivalent to 91 percent coverage in the adult population; and seven million 209 thousand 675 adolescents from 12 to 17 years old.