BC opens up immunizations for children under 4 in next phase of COVID-19 fight | CBC News

Infants, toddlers and preschoolers in BC can now be vaccinated against COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the province opened up immunizations for children older than six months and younger than five years old.

For parents Megan Santiago Klassen, it was an opportunity she had no hesitation in seizing on for her children — the same day it was announced.

“We got here as soon as we could,” she told CBC News outside a Fraser Health vaccination clinic in Abbotsford, BC, after her two young children, Mina and Enez, were vaccinated on Tuesday. “It’s perceived as an important part of keeping our communities safe.”

Their children are just two of more than 200,000 children who are now eligible for their first of two shots.

Only the Spikevax mRNA vaccine, made by pharmaceutical company Moderna, has been approved by Health Canada for use in children under the age of five.

The dose allowed for this age group is a quarter of what people over 12 get, and it’s the first of two shots that experts recommend given four weeks apart.

The BC provincial health officer said the vaccine had been shown to be safe for children and her team closely followed its safety data before deciding to open up vaccinations to younger age groups.

“These vaccines have now been extensively tested,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry told reporters at a vaccination clinic on Tuesday. “We know they work and we know they are safe.”

Health Canada’s decision two weeks ago came “following a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence,” the federal ministry said in a July 14 statement. “The benefits of this vaccine for children between the ages of six months and five years outweigh the potential risks.”

Experts say that while COVID-19 is known to cause mild symptoms in children, there are exceptions, and they say it’s important to offer them protection — even if they’re already catching the coronavirus during the pandemic to have.

This not only protects them, but also others who are susceptible to the virus, explained Marie Tarrant, a professor of nursing at the University of British Columbia and an expert on infant and maternal health, including immunizations.

“It’s a mild illness in most children, but not in all children,” she said. “And there are a lot of kids who end up in the hospital with COVID.”

But parental reactions seem to have been mixed.

A vaccine dose half that of adults was approved for children between the ages of five and eleven last November.

Since then, 46 percent of BC children of that age have received both recommended doses — the lowest coverage of any age group in the province, according to BC data.

dr Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Center, said the newly approved age group had been carefully screened with no significant side effects.

But while infants’ risk of serious illness from COVID-19 is small, it’s “not zero,” he said.

“In most cases, they don’t get very sick,” he told CBC On the coast on Tuesday. “The risk of a long COVID is probably what worries me the most.

“So if you’re two or three years old, it would be a long process and we want to avoid that.”

Conway said the next few weeks are particularly important for children of all ages, as many return to kindergarten or school early next month.

For those who choose to have their younger children vaccinated, parents and guardians can register and book online, the province said. The government’s Get Vaccinated website also has information and FAQs.

“As a parent or guardian, you want what is best for your child,” the government said in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “If you need more specific or detailed information, or have any questions, contact a healthcare provider.”