Chile and Uruguay to vaccinate youths aged 12 and older against Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Health authorities in Chile and Uruguay this week approved the administration of Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine to minors 12 years of age and older. The approval of immunization of adolescents in the South American countries comes after the United States, Canada and the European Union (EU) had approved the vaccine for this age group.

The information about the approval in Chile was released by the Public Health Institute (ISP) on Monday, May 31. Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou announced the news on Tuesday, June 1.

In an interview with Canal 10 broadcaster, Lacalle Pou admitted to being concerned about the pandemic in Uruguay, and said that by the end of this week the schedule will be open so that youths from 12 years of age and older can be vaccinated. The head of government insisted that he is confident in the measures implemented by his government and in the vaccination process.

In this respect, he confirmed that Uruguay has recently agreed “a reserve of over 500,000 doses of (the Chinese vaccine) CoronaVac” to increase its distribution. The Uruguayan government has been considering administering a third dose to bolster the vaccines’ efficacy in the country, Pfizer and AstraZeneca’s, and the CoronaVac.

Lacalle Pou reiterated his position on quarantines and confinements that have been enforced in other parts of the world, and argued that in his country he does not believe a ‘lockdown’ would work.

In Chile the vaccination of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 16 is due to begin in the coming weeks. The age group will join the 7.9 million people who have already been fully vaccinated in the 19 million-strong country.

To date, Chile has received almost 22 million vaccines, of which 17 million are CoronaVac. There are also 3.6 million Pfizer doses, 693,600 from AstraZeneca, and 300,000 from CanSino. However, despite the effort to promote a vaccination campaign that has been noted as one of the most successful in the world, the country has not been able to contain the wave of infections that has so far filled 96% of its hospital capacity.

In addition to the South American countries, Pfizer’s vaccine has also been approved for adolescents in the United States, Canada, and the European Union. The American laboratory last May 20 applied for approval of the vaccine in youths aged 12 and older, and provided favorable studies from agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) last Friday approved the administration of Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine, with messenger RNA technology, to youths aged 12 to 15.