:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/DYI6LJMODBFIRKPLOK3MNKGBQA.jpg "Low percentage of schoolchildren vaccinated against COVID-19 worries the Ombudsman")
Los Percentages of children and adolescents of school age with vaccines against COVID-19 are less than desired and it is necessary to promote inoculationas stated by the Ombudsman. According to the latest official reports from the Health and Education sectors, the 23.6% of schoolchildren do not have any vaccine.
These figures correspond to May 30 of this year, and show that the regions with the most critical rates are Madre de Dios, with 43.07%; Amazonas, with 42.69%; Puno, with 36.99%; Ucayali, with 34.99%, and Tacna, with 31.31%.
For this reason, the Ombudsman’s Office urged 26 regional governments to implement a comprehensive plan, in coordination with the Ministry of Health (Minsa) and the Ministry of Education (Minedu). it for promote not only the process of coronavirus immunizationbut also against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)to ensure that the entire school population is properly protected.
Regarding vaccination against HPV in girls and adolescents aged 9 to 13 years, according to data from the Single National Repository of Health Information (Reunis) of the SometimesUntil May 12, 47,312 schoolchildren were vaccinated with the two doses. This only represents a third of the goal reached in 2021, which was about 130,000 girls and adolescents.
“Obviously, these figures are worrying for two main reasons: because there is a danger of affecting the rights to life and health of students and also because we are in a new stage in which the educational service is obviously preferential. That children and adolescents are not properly vaccinated, with full doses, can endanger all members of the educational community “explained Renzo Deza, deputy state administration of the Ombudsman’s Office.
The regions with the lowest figures for complete vaccination against HPV are Tacna, Moquegua, Apurímac, Amazonas, Pasco and Huancavelica.
This is not the first time that the entity has called on both Minedu and Minsa to once again promote the vaccination of minors. On June 8, he made the same call.
“In the case of the Education sector, what has been noticed, with official figures from the Ministry of Health, is that approximately one in four basic education students are not vaccinated against COVID-19. Likewise, in general, a delay has been noticed in the general vaccination processes for children and adolescents, and in particular in the case of girls and adolescents against the human papillomavirus,” Deza indicated at the time.
Thus, he took as an example other countries in the region that opened their classrooms when the school population was 75 or 80% vaccinated, with their full doses. But, in that case, Peru lagged behind, especially considering that it was later announced that vaccinations were not a mandatory requirement for the little ones to return to face-to-face classes.
“Comparative experience information was transferred. For example in Ecuador, Colombia and Chile All the regulations of the Ministries of Education established the return with full capacity, but conditioned to one detail: exceed or reach 75-80% of the school population with full doses. As of today, with more updated data, only 64% of the school population has received two doses of vaccination against COVID (in Peru)”Deza said.
Deza also explained that one of the main reasons why more progress in vaccination was not made was the lack of alternative strategies, especially with vaccines for non-Covid diseases. If in pre-pandemic times, schools were spaces where children could catch up on their vaccinations, they were closed for two years.
“However, the Ombudsman called (attention to the Ministry of Health) at that time because the Minsa did not apply alternative strategies so as not to have to drastically lower the vaccination goal. There was a drastic decrease between the year 2020 and the year 2021″he pointed.
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