Thousands of Maritime children prepare for COVID-19 vaccine
Thousands of children aged five to 11-years-old across the Maritimes are preparing to get their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Saturday, more than ten thousand appointments had been booked in New Brunswick. In Nova Scotia, parents were quick to jump online when bookings opened Friday.
Judy Harvey was one of them. Her son just turned 12 and will be vaccinated Dec. 9.
“I've always wanted it since last year but I couldn't get it because I was 11 and yeah I think it's going to be really good,” her son Darius said.
Twins Rori and Georgia Gillis are also counting down the days.
Their mother, Holly Gillis, is the director of public health with Nova Scotia Public Health. The 11-year-old girls understand the disruptions COVID-19 has caused by cancelling classes at school and sports.
Georgia knows why she wants the vaccine.
“So I can do my sports and go out to eat,” she said.
“More protected and safe,” her twin sister Rori said.
IWK Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Jeannette Comeau says no corners have been cut in approving these vaccines.
Comeau said the data provided by Pfizer evaluated more than 3000 children who received the vaccine, evaluating its efficacy and its side effects.
She says side effects may include a sore arm or a fever but if that happens, she recommends treating the child with medication.
“In the clinical trials there were actually no cases of myocarditis or pericarditis in the children,” she said, adding the extremely rare side effect is much more likely to occur if someone contracts COVID-19.
“We’re watching very closely.”
COVID-19 vaccines for children are a third of the dose given to adolescents and adults and have now been widely administered in the United States after it was approved about a month ago.
“We continue to have an active surveillance program even after we’ve approved vaccines so we’re continuing to monitor, continuing to make sure the safety profile is as it looked. So I’m very confident in these vaccines,” she said.
For anyone who is nervous about getting vaccines - a feeling she says is very normal, Dr. Comeau encourages people looking at some of the resources created by the IWK.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.