Doctor urges B.C. parents to get kids vaccinated during extra week of winter break

A Metro Vancouver doctor is urging B.C. parents to take advantage of the delayed school start and get their kids vaccinated against COVID-19 before they return to the classroom.

Dr. Navdeep Grewal is the co-founder of This is Our Shot. She says it’s almost certain that when classes fully resume in the new year, community transmission of the Omicron variant will lead to spread within schools.

But until those cases rise in school settings, Grewal says she doesn’t expect parents to be as proactive about vaccinating their young children.

“I also don’t think that they’re going to recognize how well even a single dose that they can currently get their children could prevent them from transmitting within their own families and within their communities and schools,” she adds.

Related Articles: 

• B.C. schools to have phased return from winter break

• BCTF calls on province to step up COVID-19 measures in schools

• B.C. teachers hope kids COVID shots help get school life back to normal

• B.C. officials acknowledge record case counts don’t reflect ‘number of people who truly have COVID’

Shortly after the province announced vaccination eligibility for kids five to 11 years old in November, about 40 per cent of B.C.’s 350,000 children in that age range were registered.

The increase has lagged substantially since the initial burst of registrations and Grewal says she believes the now sluggish response is because there is no demand or urgency.

“A big part of the issue is, is that there’s still a lot of hesitancy in parents to get their kids vaccinated,” she said.

She says she’s noticed parents are less likely to vaccinate their younger children versus themselves.

“We see that in the12 to 17 age group, there are quite a higher number of percentage of kids that have gotten vaccinated. But the younger kids’ parents are still a little bit hesitant,” she said.

For parents who still has questions about the safety of vaccines for kids, Grewal encourages them to make an appointment with their health care provider or trusted health care professionals.

“Don’t get it from other sources or other parents that you may not that may not have all the information at their fingertips,” she said.

Getting vaccination rates up will require ongoing messaging, she says, both from health communicators and from governments.

Related Articles: 

• B.C. parents can book COVID-19 shots for kids five to 11

• ‘Like the Hunger Games’: B.C. parents frustrated on Day 1 of kids’ COVID vaccine rollout

On Wednesday, the province announced kids of essential workers and those who need extra support will return to class as initially planned on either Jan. 3 or 4, depending on their school’s schedule. All other students will return on Jan. 10.

The province said this phased approach is meant to give school staff time to develop additional protocols to reduce crowding during certain parts of the school day and prevent the spread of the virus.

Parents and guardians can register kids at Get Vaccinated BC to receive an invitation to book a time.