(The Canadian Press)

By CKOM News

VACCINE FOR KIDS

Health Canada approves Pfizer vaccine for kids aged 5-11

Nov 19, 2021 | 9:31 AM

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.

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.”

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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. The vaccine was found to be 90.7 per cent effective at preventing COVID in children aged five to 11 and there weren’t any side effects identified.

“Health Canada has placed terms and conditions requiring Pfizer-BioNTech to continue providing information to Health Canada on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in this younger age group,” the statement said.

“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.”

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.”

A media conference is set for 9 a.m., at which the Canadian government is to discuss the decision. You can hear that media conference here.

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