The Government of Guillermo Lasso expects to immunize nine million people against COVID-19 in the first 100 days of his administration. | Photo: EFE

Quito, July 21 (RHC)-- Ecuador has launched vaccinations against coronavirus with children over the age of 12 years old with Pfizer's vaccine.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón, who indicated that in order to be vaccinated, minors must have certificates from pediatricians to prove their medical condition.   According to the vaccination plan, it will benefit minors up to 17 years of age and pregnant adolescents from 12 weeks of gestation.

The decision to vaccinate minors was taken after it became known that the Delta variant is already circulating in the South American country.   According to the Ministry of Health, 30 new cases of the Delta variant were detected on Tuesday, raising to 40 the number of infected in the last days in several cities, among them Quito, the hardest hit by the pandemic.

The Government of Guillermo Lasso expects to immunize nine million citizens against COVID-19 in the first 100 days of his administration, to be completed by the end of August.

Since the detection of the first case of coronavirus on February 29, 2020, Ecuador has registered 477,946 COVID-19 infections.