OF the country’s adolescence population, that is persons aged 12 – 17, 30.8 per cent have been fully vaccinated and 43.7 per cent have received at least one dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, according to statistics released on Monday by the Ministry of Health (MoH).

The ministry said this accounts for 22,464 adolescents being fully vaccinated so far, and 31, 861 being partially vaccinated.

The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was approved in the USA for this category of persons. With COVD-19 cases in Guyana currently on the increase, the MoH is calling on parents to ensure their children are inoculated.

“Parents and guardians, the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective and will protect your children from becoming severely ill or hospitalised if they contract COVID-19. Get your adolescents vaccinated as soon as possible. Together, we can win this fight against COVID-19,” the ministry said.

Vaccination of adolescents started in Guyana last August. The MoH collaborated with the Ministry of Education (MoE) to carry out a widespread vaccination campaign to ensure that the vaccine was available to all those who needed it.