Bangkok to begin Pfizer vaccines for children 5-11 next month
The next round of the vaccine rollout is being prepared now by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and aims to use Pfizer vaccines for children under 12 years old. The rollout will be launched next month and will allow children between the ages of 5 years old and 11 years old to get vaccinated with the mRNA vaccine.
While children over 12 years old have been given regular full doses of the Pfizer vaccine as part of Thailand’s vaccination programme, the dosage for children between 5 and 12 will be one-third of that amount, 10 micrograms in each of the 2 injections. The lower dosage is recommended by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Communicable Disease Committee for pediatric vaccinations and will follow the same schedule for the first and second doses.
While the BMA sets to work on vaccinating children under 12, City Hall will still keep their focus primarily on giving Pfizer vaccines to unvaccinated children over the age of 12. They say that they will not extend their programme for younger children until they’ve reached a higher percentage of the older children and students.
As has been the case throughout the programme, all vaccinations for children and students age 18 and under will be on an entirely voluntary basis, and vaccines will only be administered with the consent of a parent or legal guardian.
The future for students remains in the balance as the Omicron variant has fueled a massive resurgence of new Covid-19 infections each day and research shows that only triple vaccination provides sufficient protection from severe infection and death. With the looming threat, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang has moved all classes online at least until January 16th for each of Bangkok 109 government-run schools.
SOURCE: National News Bureau of Thailand
