Venezuela begins vaccination against Covid-19 for children from 2 to 11 years old with a dose of Sovereign 2

The vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, said Monday that it began inoculating children ages 2 to 11 against the Covid-19 with the vaccine produced by Cuba Sovereign 2, which had already generated criticism from several medical associations.

Cuba, a close ally of the president’s government Nicolas Maduro, says his vaccinations Abdala, Sovereign 2 and Soberana Plus They are more than 90% effective, and initial results are similar to those of other superior vaccines that significantly reduce transmission, severe disease, and death, although critics have complained that those results have not yet been peer-reviewed.

From a school in western Caracas for children with disabilities such as mild and moderate retardation, or motor problems, among others, Rodríguez said that the vaccination operation throughout the country began “with children whose immune system is compromised (… ) children with any disease “.

“In Venezuela the use of the Sovereign 2 vaccine, a Cuban vaccine, has already been authorized to vaccinate children between 2 and 11 years old,” the official added in statements broadcast on state television.

The Venezuelan population in those ages 2 to 11 is approximately 3.5 million, said the Minister of Health, Carlos Alvarado, who accompanied the vice president at school.

Venezuelan medical and scientific academies, as well as pediatric unions have expressed their concern about the use of Cuban vaccines, indicating that information on their safety and efficacy published in scientific journals is unknown and their quality has been verified in independent clinical trials or has been approved. by World Health Organization.

Most of the vaccines used in Venezuela have been the Russian Sputnik V and the Sinopharm made in China, as well as Sinovac, which has arrived through the mechanism Covax. In June, the Venezuelan government authorized a first trial with the Abdala vaccine in an area of ​​Caracas and since September some batches have arrived from Cuba, without details.

In mid-October, together with the start of face-to-face classes, the inoculation of those over 12 years of age began.

The Maduro government has said that 70% of the population, of some 28 million people, has been vaccinated and that it expects that by the end of the year it will be 90%. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says that in Venezuela 32% of the inhabitants have been inoculated. The South American country has reported a cumulative 413,135 infections and 4,965 deaths.