CKPG

By Dione Wearmouth

COVID-19

Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins next week

Nov 23, 2021 | 2:58 PM

NORTHERN BC – Public Health Officials have announced the plans for the province-wide COVID-19 vaccination rollout for kids aged 5-11. Health Canada recently approved the specially-formulated pediatric Pfizer vaccine.

Pediatric vaccination appointment invites will start being sent out next Monday (November 29). Children must be registered on the Get Vaccinated BC website in order to be invited for an appointment. Invites will be sent out in the same order that children were registered. Bookings are necessary, as drop-in appointments for pediatric vaccines are not available. So far around 90,000 of the 350,000 eligible BC children aged 5-11 have been registered for an appointment.

“Whether it’s a unique clinic or a mixed clinic where we’re also doing some adults, we will have specific child-appropriate attributes of those spaces,” explained Dr. Penny Ballum, Executive Lead for BC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts & Immunization Efforts.

Child friendly vaccination clinics will be set up with trained health care providers, on-site supports for children and calm private space for families who need it. Small family clinics will be set up to offer vaccinations to 5-11 year olds and their immediate families. Pharmacy clinics will not receive the pediatric vaccine at this time. In remote First Nations communities, the FNHA and the local health authority will come to the community to offer pediatric vaccination to children aged 5 to 11. This will often be done at the same time boosters are being offered to adults 18+ and first and second doses for anyone over 12. In some instances, schools will be utilized for an after-hours vaccination clinic.

“Our sense is, we’re going to get all the children through in the next two months, December and January, and we have many pharmacies coming on board which will help take some of the load of the booster campaign off our immunization clinics. So this is what we’ve planned and it’s going to take a little bit over the next couple of days now that the vaccine is starting to arrive in British Columbia,” added Dr.Ballem.

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In order for eligible children to receive the pediatric Pfizer vaccine, consent from a parent or legal gaurdian must be given at the time of vaccination. There is a minimum 8 week interval between dose one and two. 11-year-olds will receive the pediatric vaccination, if they turn 12 during the 8 week period between their first and second dose, they will receive the adult vaccination for their second dose.

Health officials expects the province will be able to vaccinate the entire 5-11 age group by the end of January.