Convenience key for rollout of COVID-19 shots for younger kids: B.C. education minister

Making sure families have the information they need about COVID-19 shots for younger kids is a top priority, according to B.C.’s education minister. On Friday, Health Canada announced a decision on whether to authorize a vaccine for kids aged five to 11 will come “in the next one to two weeks.”

B.C. Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside says it will take teamwork to ensure a smooth rollout of the plan from Dr. Penny Ballem, who is heading up B.C.’s COVID-19 vaccine campaign.

Whiteside also says it’s important parents have their questions or concerns answered.

“Dr. Ballem and her team of public health folks … are working very closely with the Ministry of Education and with school districts.”

As far as where shots will be administered, Whiteside didn’t say whether they will take place in schools.

“The public health team wants to ensure that vaccines are available in a way that is very simple and easy for parents and families to access. That’ll be their first and foremost priority that will be driving the decision they make about location.”

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B.C.’s provincial health officer has said younger kids will likely be allowed to get their shots as parents receive their booster doses.

On Friday, Canada’s chief medical advisor said the regulator is “actively continuing” its review of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for children aged five to 11, which was authorized for use in the United States two weeks ago.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical officer, noted the under-12 population – the only age group still ineligible for the vaccine – continues to have the highest incidence rates of COVID-19 across the country.

COVID-19 has typically shown to be mild in children since the pandemic began, but some kids have had serious illness. They can also spread the virus to others.

Authorization within the next two weeks could give kids access to a first shots – and potentially a second – by Christmas, provided Canada receives supply of the smaller, kid-specific doses right away and that provinces can roll out the vaccine swiftly.

The federal government announced last month it would receive 2.9 million Pfizer doses for children shortly after approval.

The U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has authorized second doses for children three weeks after the first shot. But Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization could recommend spacing out the jabs over a longer interval.