Children as young as six months can be vaccinated for COVID-19 via Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) clinics on the Sunshine Coast. VCH told Coast Reporter via email that it has been hosting vaccination clinics for this age group locally since Aug. 2.
To schedule an appointment for an infant or child, parents or guardians must first register their youngsters via getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca. Although no upcoming vaccination clinic dates on the lower Sunshine Coast are listed on vhc.ca as of Aug. 22, having more registrations from local residents will be an impetus to schedule additional local clinics dates.
Health Canada has approved the Moderna Spikevax mRNA vaccine for young children. It is offered in two doses, which are recommended to be given eight weeks apart. Those in the age group of six months to four years will receive a 25-microgram dose, which is a quarter of the dosage for adults.
The vaccines are free and a child does not need a BC care card to be eligible. An information sheet for parents about the vaccination process is available at bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID-19_vaccine/Vaccinesforchildren_under11.pdf.
Local clinics
VCH's email detailed that the frequency and size of the clinics varies across the health region, depending on the number of eligible children in each community and on the number of registrations and booked appointments.
Those attending vaccination clinics where babies and toddlers are welcomed may notice that these are smaller events than those held for other groups. VCH said that this is by design as it wants to ensure “a welcoming atmosphere for young children and their families”. Most clinics have established separate quiet spaces for children with special needs such as autism, sensory processing, or needle phobia.
Public health nurses and family physicians make up the staff at these clinics. VCH’s spokesperson wrote “Parents and caregivers of children six months to four years of age have indicated that immunizers with experience vaccinating children of this age group is very important to them.
“Based on surveys of parents intent to vaccinate their young children and considering that many families are on vacation over the summer months, the uptake to date (on the Coast) is within the range anticipated.”
COVID-19 vaccination picture in BC
Province-wide, the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) reports that as of Aug. 18, almost 12.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with 3.2 million of those given within VCH. No details on the vaccination uptake levels for children under the age of 11, either provincially or in VCH, was posted with BCDCC's mid-August update.
“Vaccines continue to provide important protection against serious illness. People who have been vaccinated are much less likely to end up in hospital with COVID-19 than people who have not been vaccinated. Preventing serious outcomes is the main goal of the vaccine program,” the website states.
