The children’s dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be arriving in Cayman on Thursday’s British Airways flight and will be available for all kids aged 5-11, Governor Martyn Roper has confirmed.
Roper, in a brief statement Monday, said Cayman will be receiving 2,000 doses of the paediatric formulation of the vaccine.
“The UK heard our pleas for Cayman to be allowed to move ahead with vaccinating our 5-11 year olds as quickly as we could. The UK has given us permission to proceed in advance of this wider roll-out in the UK,” he said in the statement.
The Health Services Authority, he said, will shortly be issuing a vaccination schedule for this age group.
Children will need two shots at least eight weeks apart, Roper said.
“As we increasingly learn to live with Covid, the capacity to roll-out vaccines to 5-11s will be another important tool we have to protect our community,” Roper added.
Changes to school testing, mask mandates possible
Last week, interim Chief Medical Officer Dr. Autilia Newton, speaking on the Cayman Compass weekly talk show The Resh Hour, said discussions are still under way on how the HSA will be administering the vaccine and whether there will be special clinic for those shots.
Once the administering of the children’s vaccine begins, Newton said, health officials “will be more than happy” to revisit the current lateral flow testing regime for local kids and mask mandates in schools.
“But let’s get that [vaccination] started properly and get a good coverage and of course we will take care of that,” she said.
Similar to the projections for adults, Newton said, health officials have set a minimum vaccination target of 60% of the total population of 5-11 year olds.
“You aim high… you aim to 80% but you feel better as soon as you reach 60, because that’s normally what you do with campaigns,” she added.
Last month, vaccination of vulnerable children, ages 5-11, commenced with a special clinic session.
A total of 48 at-risk kids received the children’s dose of the vaccine.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Samuel Williams-Rodriguez, speaking on the 2 Feb., episode of The Resh Hour, said that there had been no reports of serious adverse reactions from the vaccinated children.
Appeal for boosters
Both Newton and Roper has expressed the need for residents to get their booster shot.
The CMO said a new booster campaign will be rolled out soon to encourage the third shot, but she said she does not see a push for a fourth dose until late 2022 or even early 2023.
Roper, in his statement Monday, said it remains vitally important that the uptake of the booster shot increases significantly.
“Our booster rate is low at only around 30% of the eligible population, well below that achieved in the UK. We know from irrefutable evidence that the booster provides essential protection as immunity wanes over time after 2 doses,” he said.
The governor said it is welcomed that cases of COVID are dropping as the high vaccination take-up is saving precious lives in Cayman.
“Our death rate remains very low on any global comparison and sadly it is overwhelmingly the unvaccinated who are getting seriously ill. Please get your booster if you are eligible. It is the best way we know to protect yourself, your family/friends and the wider community,” he added.
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Realistically they are more likely to get 30% vaccination rates in kids. They waited too long, and people opened their eyes to the fact COVID is not a risk for children.