Quebec hopes to give all children ages 5 to 11 a first dose of vaccine before Christmas

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Now that Health Canada has authorized a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages five to 11, Quebec hopes to deliver a first dose to all 700,000 eligible children before Christmas, Health Minister Christian Dubé said on Friday.

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He urged all parents to get their children vaccinated, noting that 95 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds have received their first dose and 87 percent have received a second dose.

“We are aiming for the highest percentage possible,” Dubé said during a press conference in Montreal.

The dose will be one third of the amount administered to adults and over 12 years. The two-dose regimen is more than 90 percent effective against COVID-19, says Health Canada.

Parents will have two options for inoculating their child with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine: they can take their child to a public vaccination center or vaccinate at school, on a specified date. Parents must register their child in the Clic Santé website to inoculate them.

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If you prefer to accompany your child to a vaccination center, it is likely that you will be able to make an appointment at the end of next week.

If they choose the school option, they will be able to click on their school name and see when nurses will visit individual schools, said Tom Rhymes, deputy director general of the Lester B. Pearson School Board.

“All registration will be done through Clic Santé,” he said. “It is more efficient than collecting permission forms from everyone in the system. They sign them and a child leaves it on the bus or they bury it in the bottom of their backpack. “

Parents who do not have access to the Internet or who cannot navigate the Clic Santé website can call the school office for assistance.

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Appointments at public vaccination centers will be available before the school campaign begins. “That way, parents who want to take their kids will have a week or so before the school campaign starts,” Rhymes said.

In neighborhoods where vaccination rates are low, like Verdun, community clinics will be set up to vaccinate children.

School board officials and local health authorities have met multiple times over the past month to coordinate implementation and come up with ideas to ensure children are relaxed while they wait for their turn to get vaccinated.

“We’ve talked about having movies running, making iPads available and allowing them to use their phones,” Rhymes said.

Health Canada says children will have to wait three weeks between doses. However, the Committee sur l’immunisation de Québec will intervene with its recommendation next week, Dubé said.

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Parents planning to take children under the age of 12 out of Canada for the Christmas holidays must follow strict guidelines upon their return, even if a child has received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Although do not have to quarantine at home, a child who is not fully vaccinated cannot attend school, daycare or camp until 14 days after coming home, says Health Canada.

They should not be in contact with vulnerable people, including the immunosuppressed and people over 65 years of age. They also shouldn’t be in large, crowded environments, indoors or outdoors.

Prime Minister François Legault said the key to easing health restrictions in Quebec is vaccinating young children.

“Adding five to 11-year-olds will greatly increase the percentage of the population that will be vaccinated,” he said Thursday.

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“Once we have, say, 80 percent of five to eleven year olds vaccinated, the possibility opens up that a lot of regulations will disappear.

“The beginning of 2022 is coming.”

With files from Presse Canadienne

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