covid-19 vaccine bookings start july 28 for kids six months to under five
in a message to local parents wednesday, ottawa public health said “the wait is almost over!”
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a file photo of an ottawa vaccination clinic in the spring of 2021.
jean levac
/
postmedia
families can start booking covid-19 vaccinations for children aged six months to under five on july 28, when second boosters will also become available for immunocompromised youth aged 12 to 17, the ontario government said thursday.
the province’s chief medical officer of health says the vaccine is safe, effective and will give kids extra protection — even if they’ve already had the virus.
dr. kieran moore said in a release thursday that vaccines had stemmed the spread of infection throughout the pandemic and, while most kids with covid-19 have mild or no symptoms, “some can become very sick and require hospitalization.
“the vaccine offered to children aged six months to under five years is a lower dose that is safe and effective at protecting this age group from covid-19,” moore said.
“even if a child has already had covid-19, vaccination will help to further improve the immune response and provide more robust protection.
“i encourage every parent and caregiver to consider getting their younger children vaccinated and protected, especially if they are immunocompromised or have other serious medical conditions.”
the vaccines will be distributed across ontario over the next several days, the government said, and will be available at public health unit clinics and some pediatricians and primary care providers’ offices and at pharmacies.
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the province suggested parents with questions talk to their health care providers, the provincial vaccine contact centre at 1-833-943-3900 or sickkids covid-19 vaccine consult service.
make an appointment through ontario’s covid-19 vaccination portal and the provincial vaccine contact centre, through public health units using their own booking systems and at participating pharmacies and indigenous-led vaccination clinics.
“this vaccine is safe for kids and it works,” the cheo research institute said wednesday.
it is one of 87 sites in canada and the united states taking part in the clinical research study called kidcove to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the moderna vaccine for kids as young as six months.
“infants and young children have waited the longest for an approved vaccine against sars-cov-2 (covid-19),” jason berman, the institute’s ceo and scientific director and vice-president of research at cheo, said in a release.
“as one of the few canadian clinical trial sites for this critical pediatric vaccine, we are pleased the moderna covid-19 vaccine is now approved by health canada for this age group.”
cheo’s team — including researchers, pharmacists, nurses and others — worked to get the trial off the ground quickly, he said. with participating families, they “played an important role in the approval of this vaccine for canadian kids coast-to-coast.”
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recruitment for the kidcove study started last december and as of march had reached the goal of 40 families taking part. the randomized, observer-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and effectiveness of two doses given to healthy children 28 days apart.
the ontario ndp urged the government to “urgently” ship doses of the newly available pediatric vaccine to family doctors and pediatricians “and keep them coming.”
“we know a lot of parents would prefer to take their kids to their own family physicians or pediatrician’s office for this shot,” health critic france gélinas said in a statement. “but too many family physicians and pediatricians have not had a steady supply of vaccine doses, or have found it difficult to get information about if and when they’ll get doses for their patients.”
the local families taking part in the clinical trial will continue to be followed by the study team, the research institute said.
last week, some local parents, including university of ottawa epidemiologist raywat deonandan, shared their excitement that some of the youngest children would now be able to be vaccinated.
in a message to local parents wednesday, ottawa public health said “the wait is almost over!”
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“rest assured, we are doing everything we can to stand up our vaccine clinics with extra care for our youngest residents and their parents,” the health unit said via social media.
that extra care includes infant feeding areas, pain solutions for kids and superheroes like those that have appeared at past kids’ vaccination clinics. oph has a dedicated web page on vaccination for kids.
the pediatric moderna vaccine — half the amount given to kids aged six to 11 — is given in a two-dose series with a recommended interval of eight weeks between doses.
as of this week, the government said, ontario has administered more than 33 million doses of the covid-19 vaccine, with more than 93 per cent of ontarians 12 and over having at least one dose, more than 91 per cent with a second dose and more than 57 per cent having received a booster.
as the capital faces a surge of covid-19, ottawa’s medical officer of health welcomed news that families would be able to book first shots for young children and second boosters for immunocompromised youth.
“i am concerned about this current wave,” dr. vera etches said in a statement thursday.
she cited very high levels of covid-19 in wastewater that are increasing week after week. the per cent of limited lab tests coming back positive is high and increasing and both covid-19 hospitalizations and confirmed outbreaks are increasing.
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“this is indicative that the level of covid-19 is very high in ottawa right now, higher than the january omicron wave,” etches said.
omicron and its sub-variants are much more transmissible and even people with infections earlier this year can be reinfected.
wearing masks indoors and outdoors in crowded spaces, staying home when sick, getting booster doses and minimizing contacts during periods of high spread will help blunt the impact, she said.
adults 60-plus remain at higher risk but more than 25,000 in ottawa have yet to get their third dose, or first booster, and over 88,000 still need their fourth dose, or second booster. “now is the time to get your booster dose if you have yet to do so,” etches said.
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