Health Canada Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine for Children

Children in Canada will soon be able to receive a vaccine to protect them against COVID-19 after Health Canada approved the infant-size dose of Pfizer-BioNTech for children ages five to 11 on Friday.

Ontario says it should be ready to start booking appointments next week, which is when it expects the first shipments of pediatric vaccines to arrive in the province. Toronto says you can start the vaccine two to three days after receiving it.

The vaccine, which goes by the trade name Comirnaty, is one-third the concentration of the dose administered to those over 12 years of age. The second dose can be given as early as three weeks after the first, Health Canada said, although the National Immunization Advisory Committee suggests at least eight weeks between doses.

“Health Canada has established terms and conditions that require Pfizer-BioNTech to continue to provide information to Health Canada on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in this younger age group,” the federal health agency said in a statement announcing the approval.

He said clinical trials showed that one week after receiving a second dose, the Comirnaty vaccine was more than 90 percent effective for those ages five to 11, compared to 95 percent for those 16 and older, and 100 percent for 12. – 15 years.

The news of a vaccine for children will come as a relief to many parents of school-age children, who in Ontario have had to wear masks inside classrooms for as long as schools have been open since the pandemic in early 2020.

The approval also comes just as Ontario reports its highest daily case count in two months, nearly 800, and while more than 1,200 cases have been reported in schools, mostly among students, in the past two weeks.

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The provincial government said Thursday that it would offer a COVID-19 rapid test box to each student to take home over winter break and expand a pilot of the more accurate PCR test for Ontario schools.

Following news of the approval, Toronto hospitals and health networks were quick to announce the virtual town halls and phone consultations they offer to parents who still have questions about dosage for children.

More than 85 percent of all people in Ontario over the age of 12 have received two doses of an approved vaccine, while the total population rate that includes the youngest children is just over 75 percent.

Pfizer and BioNTech sought Canadian approval for their vaccine for children on October 18, while rival pharmaceutical company Moderna applied for approval for children ages six to 11 earlier this week.

Morgan Sharp / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada National Observer