Nova Scotia family asks public health to shorten daughter's wait for second COVID-19 vaccine shot

Katherine Simpson, 11, was born with a rare medical condition called an unbalanced translocation.

The Simpson family from Upper Sackville, N.S. appears to be similar to many other Maritime families. Their 11-year-old daughter Katherine is in the sixth grade.

"She really loves being at school," said her father Pete Simpson, who along with his wife Lisa, also has 4-year-old son Jack to keep them busy.

However, inside the Simpson home, things are far from routine. Katherine relies on her family for her care and daily living.

Katherine was born with a rare medical condition called an unbalanced translocation. She spent 10 of her first 12 months in hospital at the IWK Health Centre.

"She's nonverbal and she's non-mobile," said Simpson. "She's in a wheelchair and she's on oxygen."

Katherine also has epilepsy and severe chronic lung disease.

"She has had a tracheostomy and she's on a ventilator at night," said Simpson.

The Simpsons are now awaiting Katherine's second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which has brought added concerns.

"Having to wait eight weeks between doses and she had her first dose Dec. 9," said Simpson. "That means we have to wait until Feb. 3 to get her second dose."

Both parents are now working from home and the kids are not attending school. Simpson said exposing Katherine to the Omicron variant, before she get her second vaccination shot, is a life or death gamble.

"It really could be one bad illness that takes her from us," said Simpson.

The family wants the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness to allow an exception, and give Katherine her second shot sooner.

"We don't really have a good access to advocate to public health directly," said Simpson.

"There are very few exceptions given to this interval. We will look into whether their daughter is eligible for an earlier vaccination," said public health in an email to CTV News.