The province is beginning its campaign to vaccinate children aged five to 11 against COVID-19 after the modified Pfizer shot was approved by Health Canada on Friday, Nov. 19. (BC Government)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

vaccination strategy

COVID-19 vaccine doses becoming available for five to 11 age cohort

Nov 23, 2021 | 1:35 PM

NANAIMO — The province is beginning its distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations for kids aged five to 11.

Beginning Monday, Nov. 29, invitations will go out to those registered to receive a dose of the specially formulated Pfizer vaccine, approved by Health Canada on Friday, Nov. 19.

The shots will be available on an appointment-basis only through public health clinics. To receive a vaccine, children must have already turned five years old.

“It’s important to protect children individually because we cannot always tell who’s going to get this severe disease,” Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, said Tuesday, Nov. 23. “It’s also important to allow children and families to get over some of the very severe disruptions we’ve had from the pandemic in our lives.”

The province estimates 350,000 children are in the five to 11 age cohort with around 87,000 currently registered online to receive a vaccination.

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Public health is recommending an eight week window between the first and second dose. Should a child turn 12 in between the two doses, they will receive the adult dose for their second shot.

Health Canada’s review of the pediatric dose tested a variety of dosage volumes in young children.

Measured immune response with the recommended 10 milligram dose was the same as larger 15 or 30 milligram doses.

“Even though this mRNA technology is new to vaccines, it’s not new to medicine,” Henry added. “It has been around for a long time, we’ve been using them for specific treatment for things like cancer treatments, they’ve been used to try and develop the influenza vaccine.”

Public health data showing rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the 12 to 17 age cohort. (BC Government)

Public health is banking on adoption and efficacy in children aged five to 11, similar to what occurred for children aged 12 to 17.

After a spike in case rates after school resumed in early September, total cases and hospitalizations have dropped substantially as vaccination rates increased.

The spike in cases features a disproportionate amount in school-aged kids under 11 while rates among vaccinated students aged 12-17 mirrored community transmission rates.

“The rate of COVID-19 in 12 to 17 year olds who are not vaccinated are dramatically higher than those children who are vaccinated and that holds across the board,” Dr. Henry said. “It really shows us how well this vaccine is protecting people of all ages against transmission of this virus.”

Case rates among children aged five to 11 spiked following September’s return to class, however those aged 12 to 17, a majority of whom had been vaccinated showed case rates in line with community averages. (BC Government)

Since the vaccination had become available for children aged 12-17, public health has recorded 132 adverse reactions in the age group, with 14 serious enough to require hospitalization or some other medical treatment.

The most common adverse affect was an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis. All 14 cases recovered and were discharged.

Since the return to class, approximately 45 per cent of schools across the province have sent exposure notifications to their communities.

Between Sept. 7 and Nov. 6, 382 clusters in schools were reported province-wide, with 75 currently active.

Approximately 12 per cent of schools had experienced clusters while four schools in B.C. were officially declared outbreaks.

Contact tracing through public health has found most transmission among children is occurring through social or extra-curricular events, while most initial infection is coming from household contacts.

Data from public health shows total cases as well as ones requiring additional medical treatment in various youth age cohorts. (BC Government)

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