Peru hopes to start classes in March with 80% of minors vaccinated

The Government of Peru hopes to reach the start of blended classes next March with 80% of minors between 5 and 17 years of age protected with the two doses of the vaccine against covid-19, assured this Saturday the Vice Minister of Public Health, Gustavo Rossell.

“The classes are independent of vaccination, but we want to reach 80% of children between 5 and 17 years of age immunized so that they can start primary and secondary school with less risk”said the official during his visit to the northern region of Cajamarca.

To date, more than 3.9 million children have received the first injection, which is equivalent to almost 50% of the target population to be vaccinated from the group of minors, which amounts to 7.8 million children and teenagers.

With the complete guideline, 2.1 million children are immunized, which represents a coverage of 27.67%.

The vaccination process for children under 12 years of age started two months before the possible return to schools, scheduled for the end of Marchwhen it is expected that Peruvian minors, who have not been to school since December 2019, can return to face-to-face classes.

In total, the national immunization campaign has made it possible to apply more than 59.1 million doses to date and reach more than 71.5% of the target population with the two required doses, which represents more than 23.4 million of people, of which 8.9 million already have the third booster dose.

Decrease in contagion of COVID-19

Covid-19 infections have continued to decline in Peru for 15 days, lAfter reaching the peak of the third wave on January 23, when the country reported more than 49,300 cases in a single day.

In this context, the Government reduced from 79 to 31 the country’s provinces included in the high alert level, through a supreme decree published this Saturday in the official newspaper El Peruano, so that all the others, including Lima where a third of the national population, passed the moderate alert level.

The latest official report indicated that in the last 24 hours, 6,710 new cases of covid-19 and 68 deaths were reported in the Andean country.in addition to the fact that 4,328 people remain hospitalized, 1,352 of them in ICU beds.

That way, the total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began in the country rose to 3,440,718 and deaths reached 207,965, which maintains Peru as the nation with the highest mortality rate in the world from this disease. (I)