Laos has announced it will begin a Covid-19 vaccination campaign for children aged 6 to 11 next month as part of plans to fully reopen schools.
According to an announcement by the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control yesterday, the nationwide campaign will see more than 957,000 children aged 6 to 11 safely vaccinated.
The Ministry of Health has instructed provincial and district health authorities to begin collecting information on children in this age group in order to prepare for the rollout of vaccines.
According to Dr. Chansay Patthammavong, Deputy Head of the National Immunization Program, Phongsaly served as the trial province for the vaccination of young children last month, with the program set to commence in Vientiane Capital.
While Covid-19 vaccinations will only be given to children with their parents’ consent, Dr. Chansay says that all family members should ensure they are fully vaccinated against the virus.
“We have enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone because we have received more than 18 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines from friendly countries,” said Dr. Chansay.
The vaccination of children is part of the plan to reach 80% of the population by the end of 2022.
Laos has now fully vaccinated some 57.8% of the population.
