Alberta's youth vaccination rate the lowest in Canada
Alberta continues to have the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates for children in the country, despite the surge of Omicron variant cases.
Child-sized doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11 years old were approved in Canada on Nov. 19, 2021. Appointments to dole out the doses in Alberta began days later on Nov. 24.
Alberta has 391,430 children in the five to 11 age group and, according to the province, 166,319 (42.5 per cent) have received at least their first dose while 24,010 (6.1 per cent) have had two shots.
Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping says a vaccine hesitancy committee has been established to investigate potential ways to improve vaccination rates in the five to 11 age group. Vaccine information has been sent directly to guardians and is also available online.
"We urge all parents to look at the information," said Copping on Monday, before confirming that Alberta is in line with its provincial counterparts. "Our approach is not that dissimilar from other provinces in terms of rolling out the vaccines."
The province has opened up vaccination sites throughout Alberta with extended hours, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., to accommodate the schedules of families as well as the desire of parents to accompany their children.
The numbers released by the government of Alberta vary slightly from those issued by the federal government, but both show Alberta trails other provinces in the percentage of children who have received their first dose.
Percentage of children (5-11) to receive their first dose as of Jan. 15
- B.C.: 47.4
- Alta.: 39.8
- Sask.: 50.4
- Man.: 52.7
- Ont.: 49.6
- Que.: 59.0
- N.L.: 74.7
- N.B.: 54.9
- N.S.: 64.1
- P.E.I.: 57.8
- Yukon: 53.9
- N.W.T.: 54.7
- Nvt.: 50.4
Percentage of children (5-11) considered fully vaccinated as of Jan. 15
- B.C.: 0.1
- Alta.: 5.2
- Sask.: 18.9
- Man.: 3.0
- Ont.: 6.6
- Que.: 4.2
- N.L.: 0.1
- N.B.: 3.2
- N.S.: 0.03
- P.E.I.: 0.0
- Yukon: 0.0
- N.W.T.: 0.0
- Nvt.: 0.1
With files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations 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.