British Columbia has provided a bit more clarity on how they intend to rollout pediatric Covid vaccinations.
On Friday, Health Canada announced their approval of the Pfizer pediatric vaccine for use in youth aged 5 to 11.
Parents can now begin registering their children for vaccination through the, now familiar, Get Vaccinated portal.
On November 29th, the Ministry will begin notifying parents of when they are eligible to book an appointment, generally in the order in which they registered.
Consent from a legal guardian will be required, either verbally in person, or via proxy in writing presented at the clinic.
In order to ensure the rollout remains as child friendly as possible, the pediatric vaccine will only be given at clinics, and will not be available through pharmacies.
The Ministry is recommending that parents with multiple children bring them in to get vaccinated at the same time.
For rural and remote communities, Health Authorities will schedule special vaccination clinics to offer the pediatric dose.
While specific sites haven’t been announced yet, the Ministry is looking at current clinics, family clinics, schools after hours, and possible new clinic locations as possibilities.
It is recommended for youth to wait 8 weeks between dose one and two, and can be taken in close proximity to the flu shot.
The province says they expect to be able to immunize all 360 thousand eligible youth by the end of January, with more than 90 thousand already registered.
