Experts will study the issue of vaccination of teenagers against COVID-19 in Kyrgyzstan. Head of the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis Gulbara Ishenapysova told 24.kg news agency.
According to the instructions, the Pfizer / BionTech vaccine is suitable for individuals aged 12 and over, she said. «We will still discuss this with Pfizer, and as soon as we receive official recommendations from the World Health Organization, we will offer our independent technical group of experts on immunization to consider the issue of vaccination of children in the future,» Gulbara Ishenapysova told.
Azim Kyrgyzbaev, an epidemiologist at the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis, noted that the Pfizer vaccine has undergone clinical trials in other countries for children. «European countries already vaccinate children over 12. The research results are published in open sources. Together with the WHO recommendations, we will additionally receive a package of documents regarding the vaccination of children — how and where the trials were conducted, adverse reactions. We will submit this package of documents to experts for further consideration,» he added.
Previously, a WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts concluded that the Pfizer / BionTech vaccine is suitable for individuals at the age of 12 or older. Vaccine trials in children are ongoing and WHO will update its recommendations when warranted by available data or epidemiological conditions.
US experts recommended this vaccine for children aged 5-11.
The day before, Kyrgyzstan received 259,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX initiative. The vaccine will be available at vaccination centers one of these days.
