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By Anthony Boadle
BRASILIA (Reuters) – As more adults receive their COVID-19 vaccines, children who are not yet eligible for vaccination in most countries account for a higher percentage of hospitalizations and even deaths, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned on Wednesday.
Nine months after this year, infections among children and adolescents in the Americas topped 1.9 million cases, and they face significant health risks, said the regional arm of the World Health Organization ( WHO).
Experts say the pandemic triggered the worst education crisis ever in the Americas due to lack of in-person schooling.
The COVID pandemic has also disrupted sexual and reproductive health services in more than half of the countries in the region, helping to fuel one of the biggest teenage pregnancy jumps in a decade, PAHO said.
Closures and economic disruption have increased the risk of domestic violence and for many children their homes may not be a safe place, PAHO director Carissa Etienne said in a briefing.
“Our children have missed more days of school than children in any other region. Every day that children are not attending in-person school, the more likely they are to drop out and never go back to school,” she declared.
So far, the only WHO-approved vaccine for adolescents https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/countries-vaccinating-children-against-covid-19-2021-06-29 is the Pfizer Inc. vaccine, while Moderna Inc has sought approval for emergency use of its vaccine for 12-15 year olds, according to PAHO Deputy Director Jarbas Barbosa.
He said Chinese companies Sinovac Biotech and Sinopharm have also requested WHO approval or the use of their vaccines for adolescents and children aged 3 to 17.
Some countries have started immunizing children and adolescents, such as Chile and Cuba, without waiting for WHO approval, Barbosa said.
Cuba began vaccinating adolescents this month with the goal of vaccinating more than 90% of its population by December, and will start vaccinating children aged 2 to 10 this week, becoming the first country in the world. mass immunization of children under six years of age. .
The communist-ruled Caribbean island is the only country in Latin America to develop vaccines against COVID-19: Abdala, administered to most adult Cubans, Soberana-2, so far mainly administered adolescents and children, and the Soberana Plus recall.
They do not yet have WHO approval.
PAHO commended Chile, Uruguay and Colombia for their successful programs aimed at limiting the impact of the pandemic on young people.
“Children and adolescents in our region are at risk of becoming the generation that missed out on health, education and social opportunities,” said Etienne.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle in Brasilia, editing by Matthew Lewis)
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