Cuba becomes first country to vaccinate toddlers against COVID

By Team Newsable | First Published Sep 7, 2021, 9:21 AM IST

China, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela have all declared plans to vaccinate young infants, but Cuba is the first.

Cuba became the first country in the world on Monday to vaccinate children as young as two against Covid-19, using home-grown vaccines not recognised by the World Health Organization. The communist island of 11.2 million people plans to immunise all of its youngsters before reopening schools, mostly shuttered since March 2020. The new school year began on Monday, but only from home, as most Cuban houses do not have an internet connection. After completing clinical testing on minors with its Abdala and Soberana vaccines, Cuba began its immunisation programme for youngsters on Friday, beginning with 12 and up.

It began giving vaccines to children aged 2 to 11 in the central province of Cienfuegos on Monday. Several other nations worldwide are vaccinating children as young as 12 years old, and others are undertaking trials in younger children. China, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela have all declared plans to vaccinate young infants, but Cuba is the first. Chile authorised Chinese Sinovac vaccinations for children aged six to twelve on Monday. The first in Latin America, the Cuban vaccinations have not been subjected to international scientific peer assessment.

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They are based on recombinant protein technology, which is also utilised in the United States' Novavax and France's Sanofi vaccines, seeking WHO clearance. Unlike many other vaccinations now in use, recombinant vaccines do not require freezing. Most schools in Cuba have been closed since March 2020, with some reopening for a few weeks at the end of last year before closing again in January. According to the administration, schools will reopen gradually in October and November, but only when all students have been vaccinated.

UNICEF has urged on schools throughout the world to reopen as soon as possible because "the long-term costs of closures are too expensive and difficult to justify."

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In recent months, there has been an increase in coronavirus infections in Cuba, placing strain on the country's healthcare system. Roughly half of the 5,700 coronavirus deaths recorded since the outbreak began occurred in the previous month alone, as did nearly a third of all reported cases.

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