Previous grade 4 class at Red Wing school in P.A. works away on Chromebooks during the pandemic. (Submitted photo/Lisa Campbell)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Vaccine For Children

‘Good news’: Sask. Rivers director shares thoughts on potential child COVID vaccine

Oct 20, 2021 | 5:00 PM

The progress being made on a COVID-19 vaccine for children is being called ‘good news’ by the director of education for Prince Albert’s Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division.

Robert Bratvold spoke with paNOW about the province’s hopes to have doses ready for kids between the ages of five and 11 sometime in November.

This comes as Pfizer asks Health Canada to approve its vaccine for children as they’ve conducted trials that show a smaller dose of their shot is effective against the virus.

Bratvold said anything to help these kids is welcomed news.

“I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but we have had cases with students aged 5 to 11 and we had them last year as well.”

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An exact date for when they could become available has still not been decided.

However, when one is announced, Bratvold believes they could be administered directly at the school.

Vaccines were given to older students on location last year and the division has hosted multiple health clinics this year where individuals could get tested and receive the vaccine.

“I think it’s a pretty safe assumption that schools and (Saskatchewan Health Authority) will collaborate again to try and make sure the voluntary vaccine is available, as much as possible, for families in convenient ways,” added Bratvold.

paNOW also reached out multiple times to the Prince Albert Roman Catholic Separate School Division but didn’t get a response.

Meanwhile, Bratvold isn’t the only one glad to see the potential arrival of a vaccine for children.

Last month, Gail Szautner, executive director of Children’s Choice Child Development, noted Pfizer’s announcement welcome news.

“You can’t self-distance yourselves from children and children self-distance from each other, children are together because that’s where they need to be.”

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow