And while 12-17 year olds are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, the latest reports are that Pfizer has submitted data so that it can be approved for kids 5-11 years old. And while that trial process might take a while, we asked Dr Diaz about it. She told us that those children will have to wait and that for now, the focus is getting older persons vaccinated who are more vulnerable:
Dr Melissa Diaz, Deputy Director, Central Health Region
"That information just recently came out for 5-11 year olds at a third of the dose so a much much lesser dose of Pfizer. At this point we will not be expanding the age group as yet, a lot more doses need to be achieved in country, we need more information and of course we also need the emergency use authorization which our Ministry of Health and Wellness, we've agreed from the get go, only vaccines that get the emergency use approved will be used in Belize so there are many things we have to wait on prior to getting the 5-11 year olds. And more importantly I note that the older persons, person 60 and older, persons 80 and older, age is definitely a factor in what contributes to the severity of COVID 19 and admissions, etc, so we do want to push, we do want to urge persons in these age groups and everybody 18 or older to get vaccinated."
