Hundreds of vaccine appointments available for kids, despite some struggles

Some parents such as Barker, have been able to secure vaccination appointments for their kids—months after first registering. Yet, she says others don’t have that same luck.

“Adrian Dix has said that we are a priority and yet, children 5-11 have been given four dates prior to Christmas. Then Christmas Eve dates. It’s not accessible to working parents.” said Barker.

Both clinics in Prince George have few dates available and are currently only operate during working hours, which is difficult for some families.

“We’re expected to take our kids out of school. I’m expected to take time off work. I’m lucky that I can do that, but there are other parents that can’t do that due to accessibility and can’t afford to do it.” said Barker.

Other communities such as Vanderhoof and Fort St. James have a similar story. Then there are places like Quesnel; which offers clinics running as late as 7 p.m.

“I wouldn’t want anyone to think that the currently planned clinics that we have are the only opportunities are going to be.” said Eryn Collins, Spokesperson for Northern Health.

Northern Health says that the number of available appointments first announced, were made based off of the number of kids who were registered and the number of staff that are able to administer the doses. The doses are a pediatric version of the COVID-19 vaccine, which requires more training to give.

“We’re expecting that we’ll move through that eligibility group somewhat faster than other eligibility groups in the province. There are clinics elsewhere in larger centres that are already fully booked through christmas and no opportunities until January right now. Currently there are about 400 appointments available through Christmas in Prince George.” said Collins.

There is some good news. Collins says that the rate of parents eagerly registering their kids is rising, which is letting the health authority consider more options in the near future—such as drop-in clinics.

“There will be more opportunities in January as well. We have about 25,000 kids between 5-11 across the Northern Health region and about 7,200 of those are in Prince George and the surrounding areas. So we expect to move through that eligibility relatively quickly.” said Collins.

Data on how many kids have received their first is expected to be released by next week. Collins encourages parents who haven’t done so, to register their kids for appointment as soon as possible.

To find the clinic nearest to you and to register, you can visit the Northern Health website here.

by Oli Herrera

Hundreds of vaccine appointments available for kids, despite some struggles

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