HALIFAX-
The first shipment of pediatric doses of COVID-19 vaccine landed in Canada on Sunday evening.
The delivery comes after Health Canada approved the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 last week.
“Coming from two vaccinated parents, we are very happy to have the vaccine approved for a child,” says mother Holly Green.
Pediatric doses are one-third the size of what is given to people over 12 years old.
Public health says the injections will be given at least eight weeks apart.
According to Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 Dashboard, the under-11 age group is the third cohort with the highest number of COVID-19 cases, behind 20-39 and 40-year-olds. 59 years old.
“We’ve been pretty open about it and that we’re vaccinated and what that helps us do. We love to travel, he loves to travel so it will make a difference for him as well,” Green said.
As for the rollout, New Brunswick health officials say the first shipment of Pfizer vaccines for children is expected to arrive in the province on Tuesday.
The first doses are expected to be administered before the end of the week through community clinics and pharmacies. Approximately 54,500 children will be eligible in New Brunswick to receive the vaccine.
In Nova Scotia, officials say distribution information will be released at a later date.
In Prince Edward Island, Dr. Heather Morrison, the province’s chief public health officer, announced that children will be able to get vaccinated at community and school clinics.
“Only children with consent forms signed by a parent or legal guardian will be able to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at school,” Morrison said Thursday.
The head of the Nova Scotia Teachers Union is encouraged by the safety that will come with vaccinating younger students, but Paul Wozney says he is also hesitant to get vaccinated at school.
“I think there may be a bit of reluctance to do this program in schools where teachers and principals who have nothing to do with administering the vaccine might be in the middle of a controversy over the vaccine,” says Wozney.
The federal supply minister expects 2.9 million pediatric doses of COVID-19 vaccine to arrive in Canada by the end of the week.