Children 5-11 years will soon be administered with second dose Pfizer vaccine

The second dose of the Pfizer – BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will soon be administered by the Health Ministry to children between the ages of 5 to 11. It was noted that the second dose is administered 28 days after the first.

The minister revealed that an estimated Some 4,000 children in that age cohort have already received the first dose of the vaccine. Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony during the COVID-19 update on Tuesday, explained, “We need to do a lot more, and we need to encourage more parents to bring their children out to be vaccinated.”

It was noted that earlier this year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended extending the use of a smaller dose of the Pfizer – BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5 to 11. The recommended dosage for the younger population is 10 micrograms instead of 30, which is given to adults.

Further, the vaccines have been widely used in places like North America, and Europe and have been found to be quite effective.  Dr. Anthony noted that on June 6, Guyana received some 52,800 doses of Pfizer – BioNTech vaccines from Spain, which will be administered on a two-dose schedule.

The minister explained that before a child can be vaccinated, a consent form must be filled by a parent or guardian. The process, he said, is relatively simple, and allows the staff to ask the parent or guardian questions that will determine whether or not the child has any allergies to vaccines, or he/she has comorbidities. This will determine whether or not the vaccine should be administered.

Meanwhile, the ministry revealed that it has administered some 35,066 COVID-19 vaccines to adolescents. In addition, some 25,647 second doses were administered to that age cohort. As such, a total of 442,872 first dose COVID vaccines were administered to adults countrywide. The ministry noted that they administered 343,640 second doses and some 68,984 booster shots.

Dr. Anthony continues to urge citizens to get their booster shots. “If you have had your first and second doses more than a year ago, that’s too long. So, people need to come back and get their booster doses because after six months the anti-bodies in your system begin to drop, and therefore you need to be boosted,” the minister said.

The minister pointed out that since the government’s procurement of COVID-19 vaccines for the population, the ministry has rolled – out an aggressive vaccination campaign. Minister Anthony  added that persons interested in being vaccinated can visit any of the vaccination sites across the country.