Cuba began vaccinating children as young as two against Covid-19 this week, becoming the first country in the world to vaccinate infants. At least 12 young children have died from Covid-19 in Cuba this year, while there have been no infant deaths from the disease in the country during 2020, according to the Miami Herald.
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Cuba has created its own vaccine for covid-19, known as Soberana 2, which has an efficacy of 91.2% after a booster called Soberana Plus, according to studies in the country that have not yet been evaluated abroad. Cuba created its own vaccine due to the harsh sanctions still imposed by the United States, an old relic from the first Cold War.
Cuba, which averages about 8,000 new COVID-19 cases each day, reported 3,727 new cases of COVID-19 in children on Monday and Tuesday alone, according to the Miami Herald, including 236 infants and 16 newborns.
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Vaccinating children will be crucial to stopping the global pandemic, especially as children now make up an increasingly large share of cases. There were at least 243,000 cases of Covid-19 in children from September 2 to September 9 in the US, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, accounting for about 29% of all cases in the country.
The youngest people who can be vaccinated in most countries are between 12-16 years old, with the US having approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children over the age of 12. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are still only allowed for people over the age of 18 in the US.
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Major vaccine manufacturers in the US have not yet submitted applications for the use of their vaccines in children, but that is expected this fall or winter. Children as young as five years old are the next generation that could receive FDA approval for the Covid-19 vaccine.
Information source: gizmodo.com
