Health Canada OK’s Pfizer vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11

Some kids in Saskatchewan soon could be rolling up their sleeves for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Health Canada announced Friday it has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for kids aged five to 11. Previously, only those 12 and over have been able to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

“Overall, this is very good news for adults and children alike,” Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical adviser, said during a media conference.

“It provides another tool to protect Canadians and, to the relief of many parents, will help bring back a degree of normality to children’s lives, allowing them to more safely do the things that they have missed during the last 20 months.”

Canada is expecting delivery of 2.9 million child-sized doses, enough for a first dose for every kid in the five-to-11 age group.

On Oct. 18, the drug manufacturer applied to Health Canada to have its vaccine approved for use in the five-to-11 age group.

“After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the Department has determined that the benefits of this vaccine for children between five and 11 years of age outweigh the risks,” Health Canada said in a statement on its website.

“Health Canada has authorized a two-dose regimen of 10 micrograms to be administered three weeks apart, which is a lower dose than the 30 micrograms two-dose regimen authorized for people 12 years of age and older.”

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization had a different recommendation, suggesting eight weeks between doses. NACI said a longer interval “improves the immune response and is associated with greater vaccine effectiveness that may last longer.”

According to a clinical trial, the immune response in children between the ages of five and 11 was comparable to the response seen in people 16 to 25, and there weren’t any side effects identified.

“Data shows that the 10-microgram dose works very well at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in children aged five to 11 years with an estimated efficacy of 90.7 per cent,” Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief medical health officer, said during the media conference.

“This is very similar to the level of protection achieved with the 30-microgram dose in adolescents and adults.”

Health Canada has asked Pfizer to continue providing information on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in the age group.

“This will provide the Department with more data from ongoing studies and real-world use to ensure that the benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh any risks, as well as to detect any potential new safety signals in any age group,” Health Canada said in its statement.

The Pfizer vaccine was approved for use in children in the U.S. on Oct. 29, and more than two million kids have already been vaccinated.

Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman said Thursday the province wants to see vaccines go into kids’ arms as soon as possible.

“We’ll be ready as soon as those vaccines hit the ground, as soon as they’re distributed out from the federal government,” Merriman said.

“We’re ready to go with some of the schools as our partners, but we’re trying to limit it to outside school hours so we make sure that the parents are there when any of these young ones are getting vaccinated.”

The provincial government said Friday more information will be released Monday.

“Clinics will be offered where families with eligible children live, learn, and play with blended approach of accessible clinics in locations such as libraries, learning centres, community and sports centres,” the government said in a statement.

“The intent is to start administering immunizations in many locations within 24 to 48 hours of delivery from the federal government.”