The Junta de Andalucía's Minister of Health, Jesús Aguirre, hopes to be able to vaccinate children from five to eleven years of age against Covid-19 from the second half of October.

Speaking to journalists in Córdoba, Aguirre explained that "currently the phase 3 Pfizer and Moderna trials are awaiting approval from the European Medicines Agency for administering the jabs to the 5 to 11 year olds.”

He has indicated that the doses will be "much smaller" and that "the easiest thing is that they will be done within the schools themselves", underlining "the family gives permission for the child's vaccination."

"The sooner, the better"

Aguirre said that "we could possibly start in the second half of October.”

"The sooner, the better," added the councillor, who added that the regional government will sufficient vaccines "without any problem" and there are "highly qualified personnel prepared to administer vaccines in the schools."

Aguirre added that central government "is no longer sending vaccines", but that the Junta holds suffcient stocks at its distribution centres in Granada and Seville.

Flu vaccines

The Minister of Health also pointed out that region also holds a good stock of flu vaccines and the jab campaign could "possibly begin the third week of October starting with the most vulnerable, such as the elderly in nursing homes and the elderly over 80 years old".