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By KELIN DILLON

Thanks to a new ruling by Mexico’s federal court, all children between the ages of 12 to 17 will be able to vaccinated against covid-19 with the vaccine approved by the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) for use in minors, Pfizer-BioNtech, going into effect on Thursday, Oct. 14.

The order will adapt Mexico’s National Vaccination Policy to accommodate children within this age range regardless of their health status, as vaccination was previously only granted to minors deemed “at-risk” due to prior health issues.

“To guarantee the human right to health, the government must adopt the necessary measures, up to the maximum of its available resources, to progressively achieve, by all appropriate means, the full effectiveness of vaccinating minors,” read the order.

While Mexico’s courts had previously granted vaccination to specific minors, this is the judiciary system’s first generally applicable ruling on covid-19 vaccinations among the country’s youth population.

In order to meet the new demand for vaccinations for minors, the government will require an additional 30 million vaccines.