The first batches of the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 will arrive in Peru on January 18 and the immunization process will start between January 19 and 20,
Health Minister Hernando Cevallos has reported.
"The arrival of the vaccines for children between 5 and 11 years of age has been already scheduled for January 18. We estimate that the nationwide immunization will start between January 19 and 20," he stated.
The government official said that one of his sector’s priorities is the health of children, noting that the return of school students to classes in the semi-face-to-face modality will depend on how the pandemic evolves.
"We cannot predict the exact evolution of the pandemic. We want them to return to in-person attendance classes; we have the conditions now, but we will do the assessment at the right time. The health of children is the most important thing," he indicated.
In this regard,
Deputy Public Health Minister Gustavo Rosell said that a technical team from the Ministry of Health is coordinating with the Ministry of Education to prepare a proposal for new guidelines regarding the return to in-person learning.
Rosell emphasized that Ministerial Resolution No. 121-2021-MINEDU, which establishes the guidelines for the return to classes, was approved in March last year under different health conditions because COVID-19 vaccines were not available at that time.
"We will review the issue of the number of in-person learning hours. The ministry will provide the necessary support so that the required safety measures are in place. Today the situation is totally different because we do have the vaccines now," he explained.
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Published: 1/5/2022