A  medical worker administers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a student at a school  in Quito, Ecuador, Oct 18, 2021. Ecuador on Monday began to vaccinate children  aged 6-11 with a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company  Sinovac. [Photo/Xinhua]

QUITO  - Mimes and some people dressed as superheroes created a fun and playful  atmosphere on Monday in Quito, capital of Ecuador, as the country began to  vaccinate children aged 6-11 with a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese  pharmaceutical company Sinovac.

Also,  several kids carried signs with messages in support of vaccination, including  "Thanks to the vaccine, we will avoid catching the virus," "I want to get back  to class already so I can meet my new classmates," and "In memory of those who  dreamed of this opportunity, get vaccinated!"

Ecuadorian  Vice President Alfredo Borrero kicked off the vaccination drive at the Pichincha  Provincial Council Educational Unit in Quito, as school children in the South  American country are eager to return to school in person after months of  sheltering indoors due to the pandemic.

Wearing  a white lab coat, Borrero, also a doctor by profession, personally vaccinated  several of the kids at the vaccination site, which drew a large number of  children accompanied by their parents.

"The  vaccination process has never stopped, the process has continued. Now we are in  another age group, that is children and adolescents, because we want to reach  collective immunity," said Borrero.

"Let's  hope that in the following days, in the following months, we will get there,"  Borrero said.

Thanks  to progress in vaccination, today "we see a totally different panorama," he  said, while urging the public to continue to practice social distancing  measures.

Also  on Monday, Ecuadorian Public Health Minister Ximena Garzon said that the  vaccination for school children was very important for the reopening of offline  classes in Ecuador and can greatly reduce the risk of infections for  children.

Garzon  also said that the vaccination data in both Chile and China have shown that the  vaccine developed by Sinovac is safe and effective for children aged 6-11.

Ecuador  has gradually reopened offline classes since July 6. Local media reported that  currently, 32 percent of the schools in the country have reopened the offline  class education.

Ecuador's  COVID-19 caseload reached 513,026 and death toll hit 32,899 on Monday, according  to the country's health ministry.