Mexico Adds COVID-19 Vaccine to Routine Childhood Schedule for Infants and Toddlers

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Mexico has added the COVID-19 vaccine to its routine childhood immunization schedule for children aged 6 to 59 months for the first time, as part of a winter vaccination campaign that will run from Oct. 12 through April 2, 2027, health officials said.

María Anabel Martínez Benítez, the delegational coordinator of public health nursing at the IMSS (Mexican Social Security Institute) in Quintana Roo, announced the change. She said the campaign will offer vaccines against influenza, COVID-19 and pneumococcus, with priority given to groups at greatest risk of complications from respiratory illness.

New Rules for Young Children

Under the previous policy, children from 6 months to 4 years and 11 months old received the COVID-19 vaccine only if they had an illness or condition that weakened their immune system. Starting this season, the shot becomes part of the basic schedule for every child in that age range.

The regimen calls for two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine given four weeks apart. Once the primary series is complete, no annual booster is required for this age group.

The campaign will use vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer. The Moderna shot can be given from 6 months of age, while Pfizer’s is aimed mainly at people 12 and older.

Influenza and Pneumococcus

Martínez Benítez said the influenza vaccine is administered every season because its formulation is updated each year based on the viruses that circulated in the previous period.

Children aged 6 to 59 months who have never received a flu shot need two doses in their first season, spaced four weeks apart, followed by a single annual dose. Adults over 60 and people aged 5 and older are also eligible.

Priority groups include pregnant women, regardless of how far along they are, as well as health care workers and people living with HIV or conditions that weaken their defenses, such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, morbid obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severe asthma.

The campaign also updates pneumococcus coverage with the 20-valent vaccine. Martínez Benítez said the IMSS has had that product since last year, but this season it will be added to the schedules of other health institutions as part of an effort to standardize its use nationwide.

For older adults, the COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be given as an annual booster, as it will for other priority groups, including pregnant women, health care workers and people whose immune response is reduced by illness.