Manitoba Parents Prepare for New COVID-19 Vaccine Rule Starting Monday for Children’s Indoor Sports – Winnipeg | The Canadian News

Starting Monday, if a 12-17 year old Manitoba child wants to play an indoor sport, they should get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Manitoba government announced the new rule in mid-November, advising parents of the planned change.

The rule applies to all indoor recreational sports, such as hockey.

On Saturday, families flocked to the Dakota Community Center for hockey games and practices. Many told Global News that the new vaccine requirement will be welcomed.

“There are water bottles, saliva and sweat and all kinds of things, all kinds of things going around, so anything to make the game a little safer, I totally agree,” Father Cam Colman said.

“The more people get vaccinated, the faster we can get through this.”

Grandpa Henry Barkosky believes that since parents have had to get vaccinated to watch, it should be a no-brainer that kids get the vaccine too.

“I think hockey parents have accepted their responsibility and become obedient, and those who have chosen not to, it is their loss, their children cannot participate,” Barkosky said.

“It is quite a challenge to overcome this pandemic, people must take the initiative and we could have overcome this a long time ago.”

But not all parents told Global News they think the new rule is fair.

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“I’m not a big fan,” said hockey father Joel Theissen.

“Everyone has their own opinion and it is not fair to children because I think they are at the mercy of the decisions of their parents and the government, so it is difficult,” he said.

“I think everyone is raising their hands and agreeing to whatever it takes to move on.”

In Manitoba, 70 percent of children ages 10 to 19 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Some parents told Global News they hope that with the new rules in place, they will help keep their children’s stick on the ice.

“Now that all children can be vaccinated, they won’t put us in lockdown and we can continue to have some kind of normalcy for our children,” said mother Leanne Smith.

“With hockey, it’s a great athletic sport, so they breathe hard and you can’t stay six feet away while they play, so I’m happy with that.”

Currently, there are no vaccine requirements for children under the age of 12, even though the vaccine is available for the five to 11-year-old age group.

But mother Debra Langhan says she still plans for her youngest son to roll up his sleeves.

“My daughter is 11 years old and she is actually booked for her COVID vaccine today this afternoon right after her games so we are all set,” Langhan said.

Sports Manitoba says they realize this may be a difficult time for facilities in Manitoba.

“We anticipate this will place an additional burden on facility owners and operators and we encourage the public to respect that they are only doing what the Province of Manitoba, through public health, asks them to do to keep the sport open and safe”.

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