Health officials from the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) say they will host a virtual meeting, next Thursday, to address concerns from regional stakeholders about COVID-19 vaccines for children in the five- to 11-year-old age range.
PANCAP is the regional mechanism that provides a structured and unified approach to the region’s response to the HIV epidemic has said that many of the questions from the Region’s stakeholders will be addressed by a team of public health experts and paediatricians, who have been involved in COVID-19 vaccine trials for children and are managing COVID-19 disease in children.
This comes amid concerns raised by parents on social media and from various civil society organisations. PANCAP has said that its panel will consist of experts from the Sanzari Children’s Hospital (New Jersey, USA), McMaster University (Canada), and the US-based
Healthcare Informatics. The meeting will be moderated by PANCAP’s director, Dr Rosmond Adams.
Dr Shanti Singh-Anthony, PANCAP’s coordinator has said that: “As more territories within our region commence vaccination for children in the five-11 age group it is critical to provide answers to questions from stakeholders, including parents who may have concerns about the
safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines for children.”
Dr Singh-Anthony noted that while the benefits of vaccinating children against COVID-19 have been documented, that information may not be reaching everyone, leading to much scepticism among the populace.
She went on to state that “It is essential that we highlight the benefits of vaccinating children against COVID-19. These include the fact that vaccines help prevent children from getting COVID-19 and prevent or reduce the spread of COVID-19 within communities,”. Dr Singh-
Anthony also added that the more people vaccinated, the faster countries will achieve herd immunity and return to normalcy.
