Younger B.C. kids expected start getting COVID-19 shots by end of next week

B.C.’s top doctor says kids aged five to 11 are expected to start being immunized against COVID-19 “within days” now that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has received approval.

The vaccine submitted its youth vaccine data for review on Oct. 18, and Health Canada announced it was approved early Friday morning.

Read more: Health Canada approves COVID-19 vaccine for kids

“We expect that we will have vaccine here in B.C. available for children within days of the announcement,” Dr. Bonnie Henry told CityNews, adding that means kids’ doses could be administered by the end of next week.

“It may not be everywhere yet, but … from what I’m hearing, we’ll get vaccines hopefully next week.”

On Friday, the federal government announced Canada will begin receiving pediatric doses on Sunday, adding all 2.9 million doses are scheduled to arrive by the end of next week.

BREAKING: The Procurement Minister says Canada will start receiving the Pfizer shots for 5-11 year olds on Sunday. All 2.9-million doses will arrive by the end of the week #cdnpoli

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) November 19, 2021

Specifics on where the doses will be administered are expected soon, though most will be in public clinics and some could be in schools.

“We know that most parents of children in this age group are working parents,” Henry said. “So, we’re making special clinics where it makes it more convenient for them. In some communities, it will be based in the schools because we know that’s a place where it’s convenient for families in some communities. But there’s going to be a variety out there for different people at different times, so that we can address those needs.”

However, the kids’ vaccine likely won’t be offered in pharmacies.

“We’ve heard from families that they really wanted to be in family-friendly clinics and it can be challenging to do that for younger children in a pharmacy,” Henry said.

WATCH: CityNews’ Liza Yuzda speaks with Dr. Bonnie Henry about the rollout of pediatric COVID vaccine doses (Nov. 18)

She also acknowledges parts of the province are flooded and under evacuation orders following a devastating storm earlier this week.

“We are dealing with a number of challenges across B.C., so [the kids vaccine rollout] may look different in different parts of the province, depending what happens over the next few days.”

Parents and guardians are urged to register kids in that age group to receive an invitation to book a time. So far, 75,000 kids — 21 per cent of the cohort — are signed up.

Some parents with kids at the top end of the age cohort may be wondering if they should wait until the new year to get the shot for those 12 and older. B.C.’s health minister says as with shots for adults, the first dose offered is the one to take.

“I don’t think it would make sense to not take advantage of that, and wait for some months to get vaccinated at a time when COVID-19 is present in our province,” Adrian Dix said Friday.

Dix says adds there are different requirements for consent for the younger age group.

“There’s a difference between five to 11 and 12 to 17. Five to 11, there’ll be an expectation of parental consent,” he said.

Related articles:

• Health Canada expected to approve Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids on Friday

• Canada to drop COVID-19 tests for short trips: reports

• COVID-19: B.C. records 468 cases, 9 deaths

Henry says a lot of parents want to see safety data first.

“What is it that Health Canada has looked at? What are the details?” she said, adding she also believes people are procrastinating.

“As we saw with all of the other vaccines as they became available, there was a lot of ‘I’ll deal with this when I have to and I’ll need to think about it again, but I want to know the details.'”

Some of those details are expected from Health Canada on Friday.

Related video: Convenience key for rollout of kids’ vaccines, says B.C. education minister

Pfizer recently released data from its own study, which found the vaccine is nearly 91 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic infections in kids aged five to 11.

Last month, Canada signed a deal with Pfizer to secure 2.9 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for kids, which would be shipped upon Health Canada’s approval.

“These deliveries will provide sufficient supply to provide a first dose to every eligible Canadian child,” Procurement Minister Anita Anand said at the time.

The Pfizer vaccine is sold under the name Comirnaty. The one for children uses the same mRNA technology as the one for adults but in a smaller dosage. The doses are about one-third the size given to adults and teens aged 12 and up.

“This vaccine protects children from getting sick from COVID,” Henry said.

While most children who do contract COVID-19 only have mild infections, some do get severely sick.

“Some of them get long COVID. We’ve had a number of children in this province who’ve ended up in hospital, in ICU who have had MIS-C, that inflammatory syndrome related to COVID. So, it can be a very serious illness,” she added.

Noting getting kids vaccinated also contributes to herd immunity, Henry says it will also help get kids’ lives back to normal.

“Children have been so affected by the disruptions in their lives — having to get tested every time they have the sniffles, having to be isolated from the activities that they need in life. Pandemics are bad for kids. This is one of the things that help us get through the pandemic.”

Related video: Canadian parents crossing U.S. border to get kids vaccinated against COVID-19

Family Physician Dr. Anna Wolak believes the province should put more effort into sharing information about vaccine safety.

“We need to start ramping up the information about how these vaccines are safe and they’re effective, and how we need to get them into children,” she said.

“We need to start emphasizing that yes, child cases are not necessarily as serious as the adult cases, but we still need to protect the kids from getting COVID … but also to vaccinate the kids so that they don’t act as vectors and transmit it to older people in their families — to mom, to dad, to grandma, to grandpa.”

Related articles:

• How did Yukon become Canada’s latest COVID-19 hotspot?

• Can B.C. avoid another ‘twindemic’? British Columbians rolling up sleeves for flu shots

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

It’s unclear how long kids aged five to 11 will wait between vaccine doses.

“I expect that we’ll see a recommendation from NACI that has an interval that’s similar to what we’re recommending for adults,” Henry said.

The Pfizer vaccine is sold under the name Comirnaty. The one for children uses the same mRNA technology as the one for adults but in a smaller dosage. The doses are about one-third the size given to adults and teens aged 12 and up.

“One of the concerns that I hear is, ‘How do we know this is the right thing for younger children, if we’re giving the same thing we’re giving adults?'” Henry said.”This is one of the reasons we’re paying so much attention to this vaccine. It’s the first one that has been specially formulated for children.”

Earlier this week, Health Canada received a submission from Moderna to approve its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for use among children aged six to 11.

The federal government is also set to announce the easing of some COVID-19 measures at the Canadian border on Friday afternoon.

They are expected to do away with the rule that requires travellers taking short trips to the U.S. to present a negative molecular COVID-19 test in order to get back into the country.

With files from Lucas Casaletto, Hana Mae Nassar and Michael Talbot of CityNews