According to a new health ministry mandate, Costa Rican children aged five and up must receive COVID-19 vaccinations, making the Central American country one of the first to do so.
COVID-19 would be added to a list of other infectious diseases for which children have been required to receive vaccines for years, including polio and smallpox.
Many of the viruses that cause suffering, health consequences and even fatalities in the underage population have been subdued by their basic vaccination scheme, Health Minister Daniel Salas said in a statement released on Friday, announcing the addition of COVID-19 to the scheme.
Coronavirus infection rates in Costa Rica have been declining recently, with confirmed COVID-19 deaths totaling more than 7,000 people out of a population of around 5.1 million.
Nearly three-quarters of Costa Ricans aged 12 to 19 have received at least one vaccine dose, and about 54 percent of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated.
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