Myanmar, home to more than 55.6 million people, has been vaccinating children aged 5-12 since June 2.

By June 10, more than 2.2 million school children aged 5-12 in the country had been inoculated with Sinopharm, the Chinese-made vaccine currently used for the age group, according to the Health Ministry of Myanmar.

The ministry stressed the need for all eligible persons to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19, saying that data show the rate of deaths from the pandemic could be significantly reduced by vaccination.

On Friday morning, most primary school students wearing white and green uniforms waited in the classrooms or in line outside the vaccination room for inoculation, with teachers and health workers arranging and helping them receive the COVID-19 vaccines.

In a government-run school in the eastern Myanmar's former capital Yangon, 7-year-old Htet Nyar Khant, along with his friends, received his first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Despite some of his friends saying they were afraid of needles, Htet Nyar said that he was brave and the vaccination was to fight COVID-19. "It is not painful and I'm okay," Htet Nyar said while resting after getting the COVID-19 jab.

One of the school teachers said that schoolchildren aged 5-12 are receiving the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine with approval from their parents or guardians. 

According to the Health Ministry, Myanmar has some 3.62 million schoolchildren aged 5-12, and they are being inoculated with China's Sinopharm vaccine. About 1 million children aged 5-15, who are not attending school, in the country will also be vaccinated. 

Yoon Thanda Aung, 11, said she was a little afraid of getting injected but determined to get vaccinated because she was more afraid of COVID-19 infection.

"It is not too much painful, just a little," Yoon said after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. "I'm now protected from COVID-19," she added with a smile.

The Southeast Asian country has recorded 613,427 COVID-19 cases and 19,434 COVID-19-related deaths since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. A total of 592,401 people had recovered from COVID-19 as of June 10.

More than 27.02 million people in Myanmar have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and more than 2.2 million have received booster shots, official data showed, noting that the country had already administered over 62.25 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to its people as of June 7. 

(With input from Xinhua)