BANGKOK, Jan 31 (TNA) – COVID-19 vaccination started for children aged 5-11 years at the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health and parents brought their children there for the inoculation.
The vaccinated children are those who suffer seven kinds of illnesses and thus will be vulnerable to severe symptoms or even fatality if they are infected with COVID-19. Their illnesses are obesity, chronic respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney diseases, cancer with weak immunity, genetic disorders and Down’s syndrome.
Inspecting the vaccination, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said there were about 5.8 million children aged 5-11 in the country and about 900,000 of them had the seven illnesses.
The government ordered 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine for children and the company would deliver them in three months – 300,000 doses of the vaccine per week, Mr Anutin said.
The inoculation for children aged 5-11 years would start at hospitals and schools tomorrow (Feb 1), he said.
Mr Anutin also said that Sinovac already applied for the Food and Drug Administration’s registration of its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 3 years and over. He expected its administration to begin soon. (TNA)
