Africa-Press – Mauritius. The administration of the first dose of the paediatric Pfizer vaccine for children aged between five to 11 years, kicked off today, at the Petit Verger Government School.
The Vice-Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun; the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal; the British High Commissioner to Mauritius, Ms Charlotte Pierre; the new Acting Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to Mauritius, Dr Indrajit Hazarika; and other personalities were present at the launch of the vaccination programme.
The vaccination exercise is being carried out today in seven Primary schools and will be replicated in several Primary schools across the country. The children will be administered their second dose after one month.
In a statement, the Vice-Prime Minister dwelt on the importance for children to receive the vaccines which will help to protect them as well as their family members.
She indicated that the vaccines have shown to be effective across the world while adding that the parents and their children are being provided with details as regards the effects of the vaccine prior to being administered.
Vice-Prime Minister Dookun-Luchoomun also expressed gratitude to the British Government for the provision of the Pfizer vaccines for children aged five to 11 years old and encouraged all parents to get their children inoculated so as to break the chains of transmission.
Minister Jagutpal, for his part, spoke of the precautionary measures set up by his Ministry and the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology since the reopening of schools last year.
To this end, he pointed out that both Ministries have put in place seven mobile teams to ensure the vaccination of children, including a team for domiciliary vaccination.
In two months, all children will be inoculated with two doses of vaccines, he said. He also spoke of the rise in COVID-19 cases in countries such as South Africa and China.
With the outbreak of the Monkeypox virus in certain countries, he indicated that the situation is being monitored by the sanitary team at the airport. He called for continued vigilance of the population.
As for the British High Commissioner, she rejoiced that the British Government has donated vaccines to Mauritius while highlighting that children have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic as they could not attend schools and their mental health have been impacted.
The new Acting WHO Representative stated that it is important to vaccinate children of this age group as it reduces their risk of being infected with COVID-19, which can help keep them from being sick. In a bid to encourage parents to vaccinate their kids, he emphasised that the vaccines are effective and have mild side effects on children.
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