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Costa Rica issues COVID-19 vaccine requirement for children first time in the world

Costa Rican children aged five and older must get COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new health ministry mandate, making the Central American country one of the first to adopt such a requirement for kids.

The move would add COVID-19 to a list of other infectious diseases in which vaccines for children have for years been required, including for polio and smallpox.

“Our basic vaccination scheme has made it possible to subdue many of the viruses that cause suffering and health consequences and even fatalities in the underage population,” Health Minister Daniel Salas said in a statement announcing the addition of COVID-19 to the scheme.

Parents and guardians, as well as various government agencies, are urged to act to ensure that children and teens receive their inoculation within “a timely manner,” a statement said.

The last vaccine made mandatory for children was for the human papillomavirus (HPV) in 2017.

In Costa Rica, 73 per cent of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 have already received at least one dose of one of the two coronavirus vaccines licensed there, according to government data.

Overall, about 54 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.

The goal is for children under 12 to start being vaccinated in the coming year, the Health Ministry said.

 

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