From 54 to 126 cases in 24 hours. The rate of positive cases is on the rise. 2 deaths are to be deplored on this Tuesday 22nd March, including a 20-year-old young man. While the vaccination for children from 5 to 11 years old has been postponed for June, the discussions around an mRNA vaccine for the 06 months to 4 years old has already been proposed by the Pfizer laboratories.
Cases and victims rising
The number of positive cases reported to date has more than doubled. The tenth district has recorded 28 new cases out of 206 tests conducted. The number of active cases on the island is 182 as of Tuesday 22nd March. Regional hospitals report 46 admissions and the treatment center in Vacoas has had 3 new admissions and has also reported 2 deaths on Monday 21st March. It is a patient double-vaccinated with Astra Zeneca, aged 71 years and resident of Mahebourg, who was admitted after health complications. The second victim is a 20-year-old who died several days after his admission to the treatment center. This resident of La Gaulette, was diabetic, not vaccinated and was undergoing methadone treatment. Within a few days, Maurice has recorded the death of a second young positive person. The first one was a young man of 32 years old and resident of Cité La Cure, who was admitted to the Dr A.G Jeetoo Hospital because of a lung infection. He died on Saturday 19 March.
Vaccination remains on the rise with 1,003,287 people for the first dose, 968,313 for the second, and 575,546 for the third/booster dose. In Rodrigues, 32,126 people or 72.65% received the first dose, 31,523 people or 71.29% received the second and 11,458 the third/booster dose.
Vaccination – New steps ahead
The vaccination campaign for 5 to 11-years old will be delayed. Initially scheduled for April, the shipment of Pfizer pediatric vaccine donated by the United Kingdom will arrive in Mauritius during June. The Ministry of Health has indicated that the campaign will begin immediately. This will mark a new stage in immunization in Mauritius. Mauritius will be among the few countries to have approved the vaccine for this age group, after the United States, Canada and Israel. According to scientific studies on a trial of 2000 young people, the effectiveness is 90.7% and the side effects are mild to moderate. Vaccination is recommended for children at risk and immunocompromised. The dose for this age group is one third of the adult dose, i.e. 10 micrograms, with an 8-week waiting period between the first and second doses. This vaccine will only be administered with a signed parental consent form. Protecting children is a priority for Pfizer. Plans for the production of a pediatric mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine are already in discussion.
