COVID-19 vaccines now available for northern Ontario kids ages 5-11

Sudbury -

It's the news many have been waiting for and has been expected for weeks: beginning Tuesday, families can start booking their appointments for their children to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

The news of Health Canada's approval first came late last week.

"I'm extremely happy, I was waiting a long time for this to happen," said Northern Ontario School of Medicine immunologist Alain Simard.

"Right now, the kids are one of the last big links in our population that hasn't been able to get vaccinated … But also as a father, I have two kids that are under the age of 12 so this is good news for us, as well."

Simard lives in Sudbury where the public health unit is still reaching out to local school boards as it continues to work out next steps.

Nurse Natalie Philippe said Public Health Sudbury & Districts will be offering mass clinics, pop-up clinics and some school visits in special circumstances.

They'll also be continuing their work with primary health care providers, pharmacies and First Nations.

"The importance of protecting and now being able to administer more vaccines, opening it up to a new group is really important, too, so we're ready to get going," said Philippe.

"The vaccine was seen at being 90.7 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 in children 5 to 11, which is similar to 16 to 25 year-olds previously, so good to know that it's very effective."

Appointments are going to open up on Tuesday morning through their phone line and the booking portal. The health unit aims to start clinics by Friday once they receive the shipment of vaccines.

An exciting time

"It's quite an exciting time," said Philippe. "As you know, we do have quite high rates of COVID-19 locally so it is a major concern for us in terms of spread, so the importance of protecting and now the importance of administering more vaccines, opening it up to a new group, is really important."

It's a similar story for Algoma Public Health which, like Sudbury, is planning on a variety of methods to reach its more than 7,000 eligible kids for the vaccine.

Earlier this year it reached out to parents in the age bracket and found roughly 60 per cent of parents were interested in vaccinating their child.

Not only are they also working with First Nations, health providers and pharmacies, they'll be offering mass clinics and after hours clinics at some schools starting Friday.

"So we're really trying to do the best that we can right now with juggling a lot of competing priorities," said Algoma's Roylene Bowden.

"There will be quite a few appointments as early as this Friday and including the month of December, and then we'll carry those appointments into the New Year, as well. But we're really trying to get a good portion of the 5 to 11 year olds who are interested vaccinated in the next few weeks."

Anyone with information is being urged to consult the website of their local health unit.

"There's really good resources on there for parents of kids in the 5 to 11 range as well as anyone eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination," said Bowden.

"The approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children aged five to 11 is exciting news for families and represents a bright light at the end of the tunnel," Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said earlier in the day.

Participating pharmacies where you can get the vaccine has also been listed on the Ontario government website.