Alberta now vaccinating children under 5 against COVID-19
Children and babies in Alberta are now eligible to receive a dose of the Moderna Spikevax vaccine.
"I'm excited that we are able to finally book our pandemic baby's vaccine, we've been waiting a long time for the opportunity," said Tiffany Baluducci, a mom to an 11-month-old baby girl who is booked for her vaccine appointment on Sunday.
Health Canada approved Moderna's vaccine for infants and pre-schoolers in mid-July.
Alberta is the last jurisdiction in the country to open up vaccine eligibility to the age group, making the announcement on Friday.
"I have family in the states that were eligible sooner. Their zero to five age group opened up a month or two before ours did. We've been waiting," said Balducci, who is originally from Michigan.
The province says this the under-five vaccine has been available in the United States since June 18.
VACCINE DAY ONE ROLLOUT
Health Minister Jason Copping tweeted the first day of vaccine uptake province wide, saying 3,614 appointments have been booked as of Tuesday morning.
Of those, 1,000 appointments were made for Tuesday, while the others are for future times.
There are 234,000 Albertans in this age group that are now eligible for the shot.
VACCINE DETAILS
The recommended dose for children ages six months to 11 years is a series of two doses, with an interval of at least two months between each shot.
The doses given to young children are only about a quarter of the amount administered to adults.
For those immunocompromised, three doses can be administered, with an interval of four to eight weeks between each vaccine appointment. Children on First Nations can access doses at nursing stations or public health clinics on-reserve.
Vaccine advocates say community protection in this age category is critical, especially as fall activities like daycare and indoor play settings increase transmission of illnesses.
"While we often don't see a severe outcomes we have, we do see that the stats show that a number of unvaccinated children have still been admitted for COVID-19 across North America. And so if I can protect my child under five as a new mom, I'm definitely going to be doing that," said Therese Tang, mom of two children in the affected age group and co-founder of "19 to zero."
Vax Hunter AB, a social media group critical of Alberta's handling of the public health programs pertaining to the pandemic is also encouraging Albertans to bring their small children forward for the vaccine.
"The important thing to remember, especially with these little kids under five, is that they have higher rates of hospitalization than the five to 11 age group. They are at risk more than the older kids," said Sarah Borchiellini, Vax Hunter AB.
She then added, "the vaccine helps prevent death and serious other complications that could come from COVID."
Health Canada says it will continue to keep a close eye on the vaccine's safety, and Moderna is required to provide updated data on the vaccine's effectiveness and safety.
There is still little information about the risk of rare reactions like myocarditis, but no cases were identified during the trials. Instead, the most common responses were similar to the ones children experience for other pediatric vaccines, including pain at the site of the injection, sleepiness and loss of appetite.
All Canadian provinces have begun booking vaccine appointments for young children.
First-dose appointments must be booked through the Alberta Vaccine Booking System or by calling Health Link at 811.
With files from CTV News Edmonton and The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.