Children stay for observation after getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at a school in Havana, Cuba, Sep 16, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

Sinai Lescaille, a six-year-old girl from central Havana, returned to "Felipe Poey" school on Thursday not to take in-person lessons but to receive the first dose of a local coronavirus vaccine.

"I am not afraid of vaccines. This is very good for me. The vaccines will help life go back to normal," she told Xinhua.

Like her, thousands of children and adolescents aged 2-18 are expected to be fully jabbed against COVID-19 in the coming months as part of a mass rollout underway.

It comes after Cuba's Center for State Control of Medicines, Equipment, and Medical Devices gave the green light to using domestic Soberana 02 and Soberana Plus COVID-19 vaccines in children.

The island is now facing its sharpest rise in COVID-19 daily cases, deaths, and ICU admissions since the pandemic hit the country in March 2020.

Consequently, Cuba expects to speed up the pace of the national immunization campaign with a goal of vaccinating over 5 million people against COVID-19 through September, including the entire pediatric population.

So far, more than 117,000 children and adolescents in the Caribbean nation have been infected, local media reported.

Lescaille's mother Lisyenni Mesa, 36, voiced confidence in the efficacy of the vaccines and the government's capacity to tackle the pandemic.

"My daughter and her friends are eager to go back to school. The vaccines will protect them from more contagious variants of the virus circulating across the country," she said.

Cuban children are subject to temperature checks before being vaccinated at schools, which now serve as vaccination centers for kids.

Clara Rodriguez, a doctor, told Xinhua that the Cuban Ministry of Public Health rolled out the inoculation program.

"Although many children do not develop severe symptoms of COVID-19, the vaccines will help protect adults, senior citizens and kids aged under two living with them," she said.

The COVID-19 vaccination for children in the Caribbean nation is projected to conclude in mid-November when the country is expected to immunize over 90 percent of the entire population.

Meanwhile, school principal Ortelio Garcia said that conditions have been set to resume classes in the coming months if everything goes as planned.

"We are looking forward to welcoming students back at school when the epidemiological situation improves," he said. "The vaccination campaign is very much contributing to that end." 

A child receives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a school in Havana, Cuba, Sep 16, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

 

A child has his body temperature checked before getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at a school in Havana, Cuba, Sep 16, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

 

A medical worker displays a dose of Cuba's Soberana 02 vaccine against COVID-19 at a school in Havana, Cuba, Sep 16, 2021.Photo:Xinhua