Cuba has become the first country to vaccinate children as young as two years old against coronavirus as it aims to reopen schools for in-person instruction in October. Earlier this month, Cuba’s Medicines Regulatory Agency announced emergency use authorisation of the locally produced Soberana- 2 vaccine for two to 18- year age group. The World Health Organization (WHO) has not recognised Cuba’s homegrown vaccines, which local scientists say are safe and effective, despite lack of data. While frontline workers and elderly people were the focus of a nationwide vaccination drive, Cuba turned its attention towards vaccinating children after the Delta variant caused a surge in infections.

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“With the rise in positive cases of COVID-19 in children, it’s necessary that the family protects itself more and so we are protecting our children and adolescents,” the island nation’s chief epidemiologist Dr. Francisco Duran Garcia told CNN.

Cuba also seeks to vaccinate at least 90% of its population before reopening international borders in November.

Which vaccines is Cuba using against COVID-19?

Soberana-2 has been approved for use in children and adolescents in the 2-18 age group. Abdala, another conventional conjugate vaccine, has been designated for use in adults.

Children aged 6 and older can get a dose of China’s Sinovac vaccine in Chile. Sinovac and CoronaVac shots can both be administered on children as young as 3 in China, according to CNN. The UAE is also planning to allow parents to vaccinate children as young as three as part of an optional paediatric vaccination program.

Vaccines for kids: Which countries have started vaccinating children?

Vaccination campaigns for young adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15 are already underway in the United States, as well as several European nations such as France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Poland. The UK allowed COVID-19 vaccines for age group 12-15 following advice from top medical officers.

In India, a government panel has called for exercising caution in vaccinating children. 

Earlier this year, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said some wealthy countries were vaccinating children “at the expense of health workers and high-risk groups in other countries.”