SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Health leaders in Baja California have announced a plan to immunize children between the ages of 5 and 11 as the state has seen COVID-19 cases spike in recent weeks.

Secretary of Health Adrián Medina Amarillas says 10,000 doses of the Pfizer pediatric vaccination are set to arrive in Baja any day, and that 3,000 are already being administered at public places such as schools.

“Children are considered a smaller risk, but we need to make sure they are protected,” he said.

Medina Amarillas decided on vaccinating children after detecting a rise in overall documented cases and “a lag in the number of children who were vaccinated before.”

“Compared to other age groups, there was no emphasis to vaccinate minors,” he said. “This is not cause for alarm or anything like that, we just want to make sure this segment of our population is protected.”

The vaccinations will be offered throughout the rest of the year, and the health department is urging parents to get their children vaccinated.

“Get your kids the shots, not because of a risk the pandemic will restart, but if they never got vaccinated, this offers protection and peace of mind for all children in the classroom,” Medina Amarillas said.

Baja California reported 633 new COVID-19 cases in the last week. In the city of Tijuana, there are 641 active cases according to the state’s health department.

During the first week in August, statistics show there were only 212 cases in the entire state.