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Children in MENA Countries Are Increasingly Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccination

Children in MENA Countries Are Increasingly Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccination

With the success of vaccination campaigns for adults, the median age of coronavirus patients is falling

The US Food and Drug Administration authorized on October 29 emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is over 90% effective at preventing infection in children in this age group, and the benefits of vaccination outweigh the known and potential risks.

After the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine won US approval for young children, a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa region and around the world followed suit.

With the steady ramping up of successful COVID-19 vaccination campaigns for adults and higher-risk populations, the median age of COVID patients is falling.

In recent weeks, American children under age 18, who are 22.2% of the population, represented more than 25% of new COVID cases. Their overrepresentation is something new. Since the pandemic started, they have accounted for only 16.9% of COVID-19 cases. The reason why they are now a higher proportion of COVID patients isn’t just that rates among adults are declining. Cases among American children have risen by 32% compared to just two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, in Israel, more than 50% of recent new cases were among children ages 11 and under.

Thus, health officials are increasingly turning attention to the need to get younger people vaccinated.

Bahrain approved the Sinopharm vaccine for children aged 3-11 from October 27. On November 2, it approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use for children aged 5-11.

Cyprus will adopt the European Medicines Agency’s approval, announced today, of COVID-19 vaccinations for children ages 5-11. The vaccines are expected to arrive in the country around December 20.

In Iran, a license was issued on November 11 to conduct clinical studies of the locally made COVIRAN Barekat vaccine on children. In the first phase, 60 volunteers ages 12-18 will be vaccinated. If that is successful, children ages 6-12 will also be enrolled in the study.

The Iraqi Health Ministry approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on November 1 for children aged 12 years and up. The ministry said priority would be given to children in high-risk groups.

Israel this week began vaccinating children ages 5-11. In August, it began offering the COVID-19 booster to children from age 12.

Oman approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination for children ages 5 to 12 in late October. Immunocompromised children ages 12 and up are now eligible to receive a second dose of the vaccine.

Qatar will receive its first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 years in January, Dr. Mohammad Janahi announced on Qatar TV on November 17. Janahi is Sidra Medicine’s chief of pediatric infectious disease and medical director of outpatient clinics. He said that children in this age group now account for 63% of COVID-19 transmissions in the country. Qatar is offering a booster shot to anyone, regardless of age, who received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago.

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority on November 3 approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged 5-11 years.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Health Ministry in late October approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on an emergency basis for children aged 5-11 years. The vaccine was approved on an emergency basis for children as young as 12 in May. In August, following a trial involving 900 children in Abu Dhabi, the Sinopharm vaccine received Health Ministry approval for children ages 3-17.

Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers for the Middle East and North Africa as of 8:20 pm Greenwich Mean Time (UTC±0) on Thursday.

 

Country Confirmed Cases Deaths Recovered Active Cases
Afghanistan 157,144 7,307 140,435 9,402
Algeria 209,624 6,041 143,771 59,812
Bahrain 277,481 1,394 275,826 261
Cyprus 131,462 591 124,370 6,501
Djibouti 13,504 186 13,291 27
Egypt 353,024 20,109 293,613 39,302
Iran 6,097,672 129,376 5,830,653 137,643
Iraq 2,077,665 23,748 2,038,189 15,728
Israel 1,341,305 8,177 1,327,046 6,082
Jordan 932,539 11,459 874,583 46,497
Kuwait 413,224 2,465 410,520 239
Lebanon 662,269 8,676 627,512 26,081
Libya 370,187 5,425 337,022 27,740
Mauritania 38,881 822 37,135 924
Morocco 949,378 14,770 931,548 3,060
Oman 304,519 4,113 299,951 455
Pakistan 1,283,223 28,690 1,240,995 13,538
Palestinian Territories 429,123 4,521 421,829 2,773
Qatar 242,673 611 240,159 1,903
Saudi Arabia 549,618 8,829 538,740 2,049
Somalia 22,969 1,324 11,714 9,931
Sudan 41,959 3,114 32,905 5,940
Syria 47,558 2,719 28,607 16,232
Tunisia 716,702 25,356 690,336 1,010
Turkey 8,676,639 75,840 8,208,159 392,640
United Arab Emirates 741,720 2,145 736,511 3,064
Yemen 9,977 1,943 6,804 1,230
Total 27,092,039 399,751 25,862,224 830,064

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