Saskatchewan reveals plan to vaccinate kids 5 to 11 against COVID

Health Canada has yet to approve Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11, but Saskatchewan is looking to be ready for when that green light is given.

The province unveiled its vaccination plan for that age group Tuesday, announcing it has ordered 112,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that is specially formulated for kids. Delivery is expected in mid-November.

Dr. Tania Diener, the medical health officer responsible for immunization and physician co-lead of the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s COVID-19 immunization campaign, said getting children vaccinated against COVID is part of getting back to normal.

“It’s so important for kids to be part of a social environment in the education system (and) being part of extracurricular activities. It’s important for their emotional well-being but also their physical well-being,” Diener said during a media conference.

Diener also said while kids are vulnerable and need to be protected from the virus, there are indirect benefits too.

“Unimmunized individuals can act as a reservoir for the virus, and therefore transmission in our community can continue. So getting such a large group of kids immunized will definitely make an impact, indirectly, on the transmission of disease in our community,” explained Diener.

There will be about 190 locations in roughly 100 communities in the province where kids can get their vaccines.

Sheila Anderson, the vaccine chief responsible for the SHA’s COVID-19 immunization campaign, said the locations will be places where people will be familiar with clinics, but there will also be places like schools and libraries that will be more familiar for kids in this age group.

She said the province is in discussions with school divisions.

Anderson said there will be enough space for parents to be there with the kids and more time will be given for each appointment so the kids can feel comfortable. There will also be an opportunity for parents to get their shots at the same time, if they haven’t already.

Diener believes the majority of parents will get their kids vaccinated, but some parents are hesitant about the vaccines while others got the shots themselves but are wary about their kids getting it.

Diener said she believes parents just want the best for their kids and hesitant parents just need a bit of correct information.

“They need to have the information that can convince them that this is the right thing to do for not only protecting their kid, but maybe the rest of their family that might be vulnerable and the rest of the community,” said Diener.

There were 126 new cases of COVID reported in Saskatchewan on Tuesday, with 39 of those in children under the age of 11.

Pfizer made its submission to Health Canada after a trial involving 2,268 participants aged five to 11, each of whom received two doses.

The company’s studies showed the vaccine didn’t produce any safety concerns among the test subjects. The studies also showed expected vaccine side effects (such as soreness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, muscle aches and chills) were well-tolerated and resolved in one to two days.

Pfizer’s vaccine was given the go-ahead by Health Canada for those between the ages of 12 and 15 in May, five months after it was approved for everyone aged 16 and up.

The provincial government noted vaccination for the five-to-11 age group is voluntary and parental/guardian consent is required.

When the vaccine is available, appointments can be made by calling 1-833-727-5829 or going online or at participating pharmacies.

Expanding vaccinations

The provincial government also said it was planning to make COVID vaccine available at doctors’ office in hopes of increasing accessibility for patients and vaccination rates.

“The Ministry of Health is implementing new temporary fee codes to compensate physicians for counselling unvaccinated patients in their office while they are there for another service,” the government said in a release. “There is also a new fee code to compensate participating physicians for providing vaccinations in their office.”

The ministry and SHA are to work in the coming weeks with doctors interested in giving shots in their offices.