There weren’t any big announcements. Simply a decision taken by the Council of Ministers and relayed by the Government Information Service. The “regulations” concerning vaccination will be amended to authorize the vaccine in minors. As soon as the new exit, the controversy began to swell. Which vaccine will be used? From when ? Which age group will be affected?
Of all the vaccines, only Pfizer is used on minors. This vaccine, which has been proven to be more than 90% effective, including against the Delta variant, will soon be in Mauritius. As a reminder, the United States recently announced the purchase and distribution of 500 million doses of Pfizer to 92 countries. And Maurice is one of them.
In addition, responding to a Private Notice Question on March 23, Dr Kailesh Jagutpal said that the country had already ordered 48,451 doses of the same vaccine from the African Union. But at this time, it is not known how many doses the country will have.
Who will be affected? The RNA messenger vaccine was approved by the United States and the European Union for 12-17 year olds in May. However, in Mauritius, vaccination will be reserved for 13-17 year olds. “130,000 minors fall under this category. We will communicate on the modalities as soon as the Vaccination Committee has finalized the guidelines ”, informs us a source who is working on the file.
Parental consent
It is our responsibility that these regulations are purely administrative and will be put in place only to comply with the specifications of the vaccine. Eligibility criteria will be established. Children can be vaccinated with the consent of their parents. Another consent form must be signed beforehand.
If the international agencies have all spoken in favor of the vaccination of adolescents (see insert), parents are far from reassured. Once again, the lack of information is of concern. Ornella Thomas has already made up her mind. “I will not vaccinate my child because I think it is too early. Already, I don’t trust this vaccine for adults, ”she said. As for Megane Fabre, she explains that she herself has not been vaccinated and, therefore, will follow the same logic for her children. “The efficacy and reliability of the vaccine remains to be proven.”
But others, like Veedushi Bissessur, welcome the news with joy. “My daughter told me right away that she will get the vaccine because it will help protect those around her. But for now, we do not yet have clear information on the subject, “she said. This mom says she is still waiting for an appointment for her vaccination. “As a mom, I want to get the vaccine because I have to go to school. I don’t want to be a risk to others. ”