QCOSTARICA – Adolescents of 16 and 17 years old with some risk factor in case of falling ill with covid-19 will be part of Group 3 of vaccination against this disease.
The National Vaccination and Epidemiology Commission (CNVE) announced this Wednesday that the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) start the vaccination of group 3, made up of people with these chronic diseases, start at 16 years of age and not 18 as has been previously announced.
Group 3 is immunized with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca products. However, 16 and 17-year-olds will only receive only the Pfizer vaccine.
Among the pathologies included as a risk factor are:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus
- Juvenile dermatomyositis
- Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis
- Myasthenia gravis
- Arterial hypertension
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Transplants
- HIV
- Chronic respiratory diseases
- Obesity grade 3 and morbid obesity
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
- Cancer
- Immunosuppressed referred by the treating physician
- Any other primary or secondary immunodeficient or autoimmune disease referred by the corresponding specialist
- Down’s Syndrome
Group 3 has already started to get vaccinated
Group 3 immunization began in health areas where at least 80% of Group 2 (made up of people over 58 years of age) were vaccinated.
At the moment it is carried out in 34 health areas.
Group 3 vaccination is carried out from oldest to youngest age. It began with those between 57 to 50 years old.
What about adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15?
On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine in adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age.
Costa Rica will analyze the possibility of including them.
“The Ministry of Health clarifies that it is waiting for the Pfizer company to provide the documentation required before the approval provided by the FDA for its use in people between 12 and 16 years old,” said the statement from the Ministry of Health.
