According to the specialist of the Cuban Public Health Ministry (Minsap), this process is carried out annually to protect the population against the main respiratory viruses.

In the first week, he explained, the initial dose of 0.25 milliliters (ml) will be given to children from six months to 11 months and 29 days of life, a group that is not included in the immunization scheme against Covid-19.

This group will receive the second injection one month later, while infants between two and five years old who are asthmatic will only receive a single dose of 0.5 ml, said Lopez.

The objective, he added, is to first reach the at-risk groups of the entire population, i.e. pediatric, pregnant women and adults with kidney disease, for example.

The campaign, which will conclude on December 11, is also being carried out in 39 countries and territories in the Americas, in order to deal with illnesses such as Influenza A H1N1, A H3N2 and influenza B, said Lopez.

She pointed out that, thanks to this process, the number of patients suffering from respiratory diseases, medical consultations, hospitalizations and deaths due to pneumonia, the latter being the fourth cause of death in Cuba before the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, has decreased.

Lopez stressed that children should not be vaccinated if they have any infectious disease at the time of vaccination, or if they have a chronic decompensated condition.

The vaccination should not be given to children between 18 and 24 years old, persons with chronic renal insufficiency, infantile cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis and chronic psychiatric patients in hospitals, among others.

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