The first adolescents to receive vaccinations against Covid-19 turned up Wednesday at Guadalajara’s Benito Juarez Auditorium, where in the words of one media outlet, they were “treated like rock stars.”
Although the federal vaccination program currently doesn’t include anyone under the age of 18, the 20 youngsters - all between 12 and 17 years of age - received an exemption by dint of a court injunction (amparo) obtained by their parents.
Some of the teenagers wore yellow t-shirts emblazoned with the logo “Somos 12 GDL” (We are the GDL 12). Twelve of the adolescents were included in an original legal action, but lawyers for a further eight filed successfully at a later date.
The youngsters had to wait around two hours to receive their Pfizer jabs, as health personnel carefully scrutinized their documents. Their second dose will be administered on October 15.
According to El Informador newspaper, the parents paid lawyers’ fees of around 12,000 pesos in order to file the injunction.
Mexico’s Health Ministry says vaccinating children is not a priority, although many countries have now started to vaccinate young people.