Junta chief says Covid-19 vaccine to be given to students over 12 years old

By DMG 25 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
25 September 2021, Yangon

In order to ensure the safety of students when schooling resumes, the Covid-19 vaccine will be administered to students over 12 years old, regime council chairperson Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying in the state-owned Myanma Alinn newspaper on September 25.

Two million doses of the Chinese-manufactured Sinovac vaccine will be donated and are set to arrive in Myanmar at the end of September, he said, and the military government is planning to administer them to students.

“I have learnt that Sinovac can be injected in children over 12 years old. So the vaccine that will arrive at the end of this month will be injected in the students so that they can attend school without worrying about Covid-19 infection,” the junta leader was quoted as saying.

Parents DMG spoke to said they were happy to have their children vaccinated if there is no risk for the students.

Daw Hnin Hnin, a parent in Sittwe, said: “We will accept to inject our children with the Covid-19 vaccine, whether it is manufactured by China or Japan. Although it cannot protect 100 percent, we will allow our children to be vaccinated.”

The Ministry of Health previously said children under 18 years old, mothers who are breastfeeding, and pregnant women should not be injected with the vaccine.

Meanwhile, the Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of Covid-19 on Friday said that it was extending the closure of schools until October 24 as the spread of the virus remains a concern.

About 300,000 Sinovac doses are administered daily in Myanmar. As of September 24, 2,574,735 people had received their first of two doses of the vaccine, and 3,585,906 people had received both shots, according to figures from the regime council.

Ten million additional doses are due to arrive in Myanmar next month, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said during Friday’s meeting.