© (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A mother holds her daughter who is injected with a dose of the Soberana-02 COVID-19 vaccine, in Havana, Cuba, Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021. Cuba began inoculating children as young as 2-years-old with locally developed vaccines on Thursday.
Sitting on her mother's lap, 2-year-old Lucía looked at the illustrations in her book while around her several children watched the doctors in white coats and nurses with thermometers in amazement. In an adjoining room, Danielito, also 2, sniffled while getting a shot as a clown tried to distract him.
Cuba on Thursday began a massive vaccination campaign for children between the ages of 2 and 10, becoming one of the first nations to do so. Health officials here say Cuba's homegrown vaccines have been found safe to give to young children.
"Our country would not put (infants) even at a minimal risk if the vaccines were not proven save and highly effective when put into children," Aurolis Otaño, director of the Vedado Polyclinic University, told The Associated Press in a vaccination room.
Comment: What significant risks do children and young people face? They are overwhelmingly likely to survive if they contract coronavirus and just as
unlikely to develop severe symptoms. It is reprehensible to jab them with an experimental shot when the potential risks
far outweigh any supposed benefits.
Cambodia has also started vaccinating children aged 6-12:
Almost a month after Cambodia started vaccinating teenagers against coronavirus, the government has also initiated vaccine campaign for six to 12-year-olds.
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The decision was taken even after the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to prioritise vaccinating vulnerable population in poor countries, instead of first vaccinating children.
This has come a few weeks after Cambodia's government also launched a booster programme for some selected citizens. Nearly 500,000 to one million frontline workers and their family members in seven provinces bordering Thailand were first ones to receive the booster shot in the country.
[...]
Cambodian Prime Minister had earlier, too, stressed on the importance of vaccinating teenagers and children. The leader urged parents to get their children and grandchildren vaccinated as soon as possible to keep them safe from the deadly virus.
"The vaccination for children today is a key step to herd immunity in communities," said the Cambodian leader. "Children are like bamboo shoots. If the health of children is damaged now, we won't have good bamboos."
In addition to Cambodia, Denmark, France and Lithuania have also started vaccinating teenagers. Meanwhile, Israel has offered booster shots to all eligible citizens.
Comment: What significant risks do children and young people face? They are overwhelmingly likely to survive if they contract coronavirus and just as unlikely to develop severe symptoms. It is reprehensible to jab them with an experimental shot when the potential risks far outweigh any supposed benefits.
Cambodia has also started vaccinating children aged 6-12: