In a world where hospitalization rates for this disease in the pediatric population are higher than those caused by other typical childhood infections2, this type of space is necessary to continue educating and fighting this disease, more so because of the various complications that can develop after getting COVID-19, such as multisystemic inflammatory syndrome, a disease in which the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs can become inflamed. Most cases resolve with medical attention, but others can have fatal outcomes.

"It is important this kind of spaces, not only to be able to put El Salvador in the focus of Central America and the region, but also to continue evaluating with experts from various areas of health alternatives to continue making an impact on the population with measures to prevent COVID-19, thus seeking best practices and replicating them in society", said Dr. Ingrid Lizama, president Sociedad de Pediatría del Salvador.

According to OPS4, best practices to combat COVID-19 include robust disease surveillance to detect the spread of the virus and fine-tune the response, contact tracing to limit the spread, prioritization of primary care systems to provide care when needed, and having medical teams on call for emergencies, something that has been done by different countries.

Along with this, it should continue to be demonstrated that vaccines are safe and effective5 for children and adults, especially those with ARNm technology.

ARNm vaccines are designed using the sequence of the virus, not by inserting a weakened or inactivated version of the virus itself. ARNm vaccines contain instructions on how to create a protein that mimics a part of the new virus.

With this plan, the body's cells build proteins and display them to the immune system. The immune cells notice that these are foreign proteins and react to generate an immune response to protect against the virus.

According to the doctor, it is important to continue taking measures to combat this disease, in addition to urging the general population to get vaccinated (including the bivalent vaccine).

It is required that the various governments make available pediatric vaccination (from six months of age) against COVID-19 and that this becomes a priority action of public health.

"These events are very enriching, as we will have specialists of the stature of Dr. Jose Brea and Dr. Eduardo Suarez, former presidents of the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Infectología Pediátrica (SLIPE) as well as heads of immunization from all over Central America... to mention a few, and we will be able to discuss what we have done well and what we can continue to improve in order to continue fighting this virus", concluded Lizama.

Translated by: A.M