About 1,620 children have received the first dose of Pfizer, COVID-19 vaccine since December, 2021 in the country.
In an interview on Thursday, Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Ministry of Health, Adrian Chikumbe said those vaccinated are between the age ranges of 12 to 17.
He said the vaccine was introduced as a way of protecting children from contracting the disease and minimize the spread of COVID-19.
The PRO described the figures as not impressive comparing to the large population of children aged between 12-17 years.
“We want to create demand on the Pfizer vaccine, we are going to work with the Ministry of Education, traditional leaders so that we may make people aware of the vaccine,” Chikumbe explained.
He added the Ministry has so far not received complaint, which was a clear indication that the vaccine was safe for the children.
“This should act as an encouragement to parents to send their children to Health Centres to be vaccinated. This is safe for the country but more importantly for the life of those children,” Chikumbe explained.
The Ministry of Health is planning to rollout the vaccine to all districts in the country.
A resident from Matawale Township in Zomba, Monica Mpinda said that as a parent, it was a good thing to help and advice the children get the jab so that we could control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
‘’I feel like many parents are not advising their children to get the vaccine because they are not sure if the vaccine is safe for their children. As such, there is need for more sensitizations so that people should know that there is no harm when the children get the jab,” she added.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is a two-dose vaccine given twice at an interval of four weeks apart and is currently being administered to children aged 12 to 17 in the country.
