By Cecilia Namith
With announcements expected soon on the possible vaccination of five-to-11-year-olds against COVID-19, Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit Manager of Health Promotions Lorna McCleary gave a preview of how preparations have been made to the November Board of Health meeting.
Within the jurisdiction, McCleary said, there are 11,115 kids in this age group - 5,357 in of them in Northumberland County. And a significant number of their parents have expressed a preference to have their children get the shots from their family doctors.
In Northumberland, she said, the vaccine will be offered to family doctors, but they are also modifying the five mass-immunization centres (including the ones at the Cobourg Community Centre and Colborne's Keeler Centre) to have child- and family-friendly areas for this purpose.
McCleary called it a modified hub model that offers privacy for anxious children. They are equipping them with what she termed distraction tools for the kids, educational resources for the parents and “afterwards” incentives like stickers and selfie stations.
They are also pleased that the Early ON centres are providing volunteers – who are very familiar with this age group – to help support the effort.
They are awaiting confirmation from the National Advisory Council on Immunization, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Natalie Bocking said. But her understanding is that children (like adults) will require two shots, probably with an eight-week interval recommended.
This is a good gap for adults, Dr. Bocking added, even though the product monographs for the vaccines recommend an interval of less than a month.
“We know the most recent evidence for adults COVID-19 vaccines is, if there is eight weeks between the first and second shot, you actually have better immune response than if it was a shorter time,” she said.
Earlier provincial direction for a shorter wait between the shots was issued at a time when COVID numbers were higher and there was the need to protect as many people as quickly as possible.
