On June 25 it will be at Plaza Las Américas and on July 2 at the Mayagüez Mall.
Starting this Saturday, June 25, VOCES, the Puerto Rico Immunization and Health Promotion Coalition, will begin offering the primary vaccination series against COVID-19 for children ages 3 and 4 at its VacuKids center in Plaza Las Americas and on Saturday, July 2 at VacuKids in Mayagüez Mall.
Likewise, it will continue with the booster dose inoculation for children 5 years of age and older, informed Lilliam Rodríguez, founder and CEO. The VacuKids operate in partnership with the Department of Health (DS) and the Puerto Rican Society of Pediatricians (SPP).
The extension of the ages of the children to whom VOCES will provide services arises after the federal health authorities and the DS authorized and recommended that all children from 6 months to 4 years of age receive their primary series of vaccines against COVID-19 so that they are protected. However, for now VacuKids will serve children ages 3 and up. VOCES will have prepared and trained clinical staff. Parents of infants from 6 months to 2 years of age can vaccinate their children at pediatricians’ offices and hospitals, among other vaccination centers.
“Many parents asked us when they could vaccinate their infants, and it is finally feasible. We encourage parents to take advantage of this opportunity to protect their children from COVID-19, as vaccination has been proven to reduce the chance of complications, serious illness, hospitalizations, and death. Data on hospitalizations with the Omicron variant and its mutations show that this variant has affected hundreds of children and caused hundreds of hospitalizations in Puerto Rico. Vaccination against COVID-19 is safe and effective, as have been so many others that have successfully protected many generations from other diseases for decades,” said Dr. Ana Rodríguez, Medical Director of VOCES, in a statement.
The new authorizations for vaccines against COVID-19 in children by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are:
– 6 months to 4 years: Pfizer-BioNTech (Primary Series of 3 doses) and Moderna (Primary Series of 2 doses).
– 5 years: Moderna (Primary Series of 2 doses); Until now, only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been administered.
– 6 months to 5 years with moderately or severely immunocompromised systems: Moderna (Primary Series of 3 doses).
The vaccine that will be administered for the moment in VacuKids for children 3 and 4 years old will be Moderna and for children 5 years old and older it will be Pfizer-BioNTech.
“Some parents may have doubts about whether it is advisable to vaccinate children between 6 months and 4 years of age against COVID-19. The answer is undoubtedly yes. As a pediatrician, I am aware that the coronavirus also impacts children under that age, some requiring hospitalization. Statistics show that 80% of pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19 are children under 4 years of age. In addition, deaths have been reported in that population group. Fortunately, there are now vaccines to protect them as well as the rest of the population. family members and all parents should make sure that their children receive them, just as they periodically receive other vaccines,” said Dr. Gerardo Tosca, president of the Puerto Rican Society of Pediatrics.
In the United States during 2021, it was reported that around 100,000 children per week were infected and many required hospitalization in intensive care units. Nearly 700 children have died from COVID-19, putting this infection among the top 10 causes of death in American children.
The VOCES VacuKids have a clinical team duly trained and certified to administer vaccines, including pediatricians, who can clarify the doubts of parents or guardians. The centers will be operating by appointment system for the convenience of parents and the safety of children. People interested in getting an appointment for their 3 or 4 year old can go to www.vacukidsvocespr.com. The VacuKids of Plaza Las Américas, in its new location on the first level (next to Sears and next to the adult vaccination center,) will offer appointments from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, and Sundays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, starting this Saturday, June 25. The VacuKids at Mayagüez Mall (next to Foot Locker) will offer appointments Friday, Saturday and Monday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and will begin services on Saturday, July 2.
“Those interested in information about reinforcements for children 5 years of age and older and adults can go to our center of their choice. To see the locations, you can access vozpr.org where you will find the calendar of activities and the location of our fixed centers,” Rodríguez exhorted.
“The Center for Disease Detection and Control (CDC) has reported that vaccination against COVID-19 is safe for children and adolescents, and that the known risks and possible serious complications of COVID-19 19 outweigh the potential risks of having some rare adverse reaction after vaccination. Today we must recognize that, if vaccines had not been developed to prevent polio or measles, thousands of children in the world would die today. This has happened with the COVID-19 vaccine. We have saved many lives, but we must continue to be responsible in this process and protect our children,” Rodríguez concluded.
For information about VOCES you can call 787-789-4008, access the Facebook page Vocespr.org or the vozpr.org portal.
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