MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to work on a coronavirus vaccine for children over the age of two.
At a meeting with the government on Wednesday, the president pointed out that some countries, including China, are developing COVID-19 jabs for young children.
"We need to mull it over, too. In general, vaccinations should be voluntary, especially for kids. [We need] a procedure for the possible use of these vaccines, but in any case, we must have them available. Therefore, I ask the government to pay proper attention to this and to fund everything in the designated timeframe, to oversee how the work is going and support the specialists who are engaged in this," Putin said.
The president added that Anna Popova, Russia’s chief consumer health official, said in response to his question some time ago that despite milder symptoms among children, it is still better to immunize them, "as the disease’s consequences are still hard to predict, it can affect different body systems, the vascular system and internal organs."
Additionally, Putin suggested estimating the rates of mortality and life expectancy in Russian regions with high and low levels of vaccination against COVID-19.
"It seems to me that life expectancy and mortality should be analyzed - it is not difficult to do it - in those regions that have achieved good vaccination rates, and in those where this level has not yet been achieved. I suppose it is not difficult to do and it must be done fairly quickly," he said.
Putin suggested evaluating the impact of vaccination on those indicators.