SANTIAGO - Chile's Institute of Public Health (ISP) on Monday approved the emergency use of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines made by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech for children and adolescents aged from 6 to 17.

ISP Director Heriberto Garcia made the announcement at a press conference held after a meeting of experts on the use of the drug.

"In order to continue protecting the population, we have approved the CoronaVac vaccine for children aged six and up," Garcia said.

"The data shows the number of infected children is rising due to the fact that they are not vaccinated," he added.

The ISP experts highlighted the safety of the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines and its tested immunogenic response.

The ISP approved the emergency use of Sinovac CoronaVac vaccines for those aged 18 or over on Jan. 20 this year.

According to the latest Ministry of Health data, a total of 13,074,496 people have been fully vaccinated, representing 86.01 percent of the target population of 15.2 million.