In world first, Cuba starts Covid-19 vaccinations for toddlers
- Cuba is using home-grown jabs not recognised by the World Health Organization for children over the age of 2
- Countries such as China, the UAE and Venezuela have announced they plan to vaccinate younger children, but Cuba is the first to do so
Cuba on Monday became the first country in the world to vaccinate children from the age of two against Covid-19, using home-grown jabs not recognised by the World Health Organization.
The communist island of 11.2 million people aims to inoculate all its children before reopening schools that have been closed for the most part since March 2020.
The new school year started on Monday, but from home via television programmes, as most Cuban homes do not have internet access.
Having completed clinical trials on minors with its Abdala and Soberana vaccines, Cuba kicked off its inoculation campaign for children on Friday, starting with those 12 and older.
On Monday, it started distributing jabs in the 2-11 age group in the central province of Cienfuegos.
Several other countries in the world are vaccinating children from the age of 12, and some are conducting trials in younger children.