Bogotá, April 28, 2022. After the announcement by the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to revoke the use of face masks in educational institutions, the minister, Fernando Ruiz, gave details of the decision.
First, he pointed out that this is not a repentance, but rather noting that the country is in a process of de-escalation of the measures and, therefore, the public is part of this process.
Likewise, he highlighted that in children the vaccination coverage against COVID-19 continues to be low, having 64% with first doses and 42% with second doses, which is low, compared to the risk that, even when it is lower, exists.
"We have 358 children who have died in Colombia from COVID-19, almost 4,000 hospitalized," he said, emphasizing that it is still a risk. But, on the other hand, he mentioned that as of the first day he made it clear that there are difficulties in the children's learning processes.
In addition, he indicated that there were meetings with the Pediatric Society and other scientific organizations this week, which made it possible to reach a consensus to make the announced decision to remove the mask from educational spaces starting May 15th.
At this point, the minister was emphatic, "the call continues to be let's vaccinate children" and, similarly, he recommended maintaining ventilation measures inside the classrooms.
"There is no perfect measure, but what we are certainly clear about is that the children, where we have the greatest vaccination deficit, are between 3 and 11 years old," added the head of the health ministry, while in the group of 12 to 17 the indicator is greater than 60%. "It makes no sense to have some courses with masks and others without; that creates discrimination," he pointed out.
As for children with comorbidities or transplants, he stated that the intuitive recommendation is to keep the mask on, as far as possible, but he recommended doing work "within the school, with the teachers, so that it is the least traumatic."
The minister also stressed that this has not been an easy decision and, therefore, he issued recommendations to parents, guardians, and caregivers, taking into account the respiratory peak that the country is going through.
"The mask is not abolished, mandatory use is eliminated," Ruiz assured, making it clear that if a father or mother considers that it should continue to be used, the child can continue to wear the mask.
Likewise, he stressed that the measure is carried out until mid-May, trying to cover most of the respiratory peak. "When there is a child with respiratory symptoms, we can send them home to avoid it," the minister considered. He stressed that the mask is here to stay and that is how it should be understood in society, especially when there are respiratory symptoms.
He also pointed out that the minister of Education, María Victoria Angulo, will be present at the Unified Command Post (PMU) this Friday, calling on the educational system to accelerate vaccination in these 15 days. "There are enough vaccines. The adverse effects of the vaccines are absolutely minimal," explained the minister.
Similarly, he specified that "the pandemic has not ended, it has continued, that is why we extended the health emergency," since there is still a risk that in any country with low vaccination coverage, a new variant could be generated.
Finally, he highlighted that the country has 525 municipalities that meet 70% coverage, 40% with boosters, of that 70%, 202 municipalities meet the coverage, mentioning that among these are capitals such as Tunja, Armenia, San Andrés, Leticia, Manizales, Ibagué, Pereira, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Medellín and Popayán.
"There are others that are close to achieving that 40% (of boosters), so we hope that these days there will be a lot of vaccination to be able to close this process," the minister concluded.
He also called attention to speed up vaccination against measles, highlighting that due to the isolation caused by the pandemic, there is a lag. "This is not only in Colombia, but also all over the world. Children must also be vaccinated against measles."
