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Following the circulation of a Health Ministry directive allocating 50,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to the age 20-30 population in Hambantota District, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has issued a statement opposing the decision.
However, the Health Ministry denied a special vaccination specifically for the Hambantota District.
“This is a vaccination program carried out on a district-level countrywide and is not specifically for Hambantota District,” Deputy Director of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath said, adding that administering other COVID-19 vaccines would be unethical if the Health Ministry was to say that Pfizer is the better vaccine.
According to the GMOA, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine recommended for children, while Sinopharm is a widely available vaccine recommended for persons above 18 years. “There is no rationale behind vaccinating the 20-30 age group with Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine,” the GMOA said.
The GMOA explains that vaccination of school-going children in the 12-18 age group should commence before the reopening of schools “to prevent a catastrophic situation with the spread of COVID-19 in schools as well as to households and society”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in July stated that it is less urgent to vaccinate children and adolescents than older people and persons with chronic health conditions. This is due to children and adolescents usually getting the milder form of the disease compared to adults, unless they belong to a group at higher risk of severe COVID-19.
“More evidence is needed on the use of the different COVID-19 vaccines in children to be able to make general recommendations on vaccinating children against COVID-19,” the WHO adds.
However, the GMOA states that an increase in infections in children and adolescents resulting in significant mortality and morbidity can be seen, which is why vaccination for the 12-18 age group is important.
The GMOA adds that 300,000 persons over the age of 60 are yet to receive a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
