(Submitted photo/Saskatchewan Health Authority)

By Nigel Maxwell

Vaccinations

COVID vaccine approved for young children: parents and school officials react

Nov 19, 2021 | 4:00 PM

Amanda Morin has three children between the ages of five and nine years old, and despite Friday’s announcement from Health Canada that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children between the ages of five and 11 years old, she won’t be rushing her kids out the door to get it.

“I think the vaccine isn’t proven or hasn’t been studied long enough for long term effects,” Morin said. “I am fully vaccinated myself. I’m just worried about them and how they react to it.”

According to a clinical trial, the immune response in children between the ages of five and 11 was comparable to the response seen in people 16 to 25. The vaccine was found to be 90.7 per cent effective at preventing COVID in children aged five to 11 and there weren’t any side effects identified. AJ Stone has four kids, including twins that are nine, and she too expressed hesitancy.

“Even in Saskatchewan we have had three people under 19 pass away from COVID. It isn’t spreading and killing our kids but the long term side effects of vaccine have not been explored.”

Stone went on to explain that she herself had a bad reaction to the first dose, and was told by her doctor not to get the second one.

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“I got the second anyways as exemptions are not accepted in Saskatchewan. So that would mean me not going to my kids sports or the museum or out for supper. I’m still sick from the vaccine. It is being forced way too much,” she said.

Meanwhile Ali Mysiorek is 100 per cent in support of a vaccine being approved for young children.

“My son has autism so sometimes it’s hard to think about if vaccines caused it just because of the general opinion but in reality I think the fact that vaccines eradicated all of not most other deadly diseases then why would this one be any different?” she said.

Krysta Alexson’s relayed to paNOW that if there was a Black Friday sales style for the vaccine, she would wait in line over night to be the first one to get it for her 8-year-old son who is immunocompromised.

“Unfortunately a lot of adults are not following the rules and putting our kids ar risk and that’s unfortunate for them,” she said.

Amanda Parenteau has two children under 11, and both are very active in the community.

“So both kids are dancing and playing ball and playing hockey, so it kind of just gives us a sense of calm and we can all be safe now,” she said, adding for months they have been living in a situation where the most the vulnerable people in their household have not been protected.

With respect to other parents concerns about potential side effects, Parenteau said she can understand where they are coming from but added she prefers to trust health-care professionals who would not put something in children that could hurt them.

“You know science has protected us for hundreds of years with vaccines so I tend to trust our health care and believe our doctors and scientists behind this know what they are doing,” she said.

Reaction from teachers

Patrick Maze, the president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, said the announcement Friday morning that children in that age group could now be vaccinated was a welcome one.

“It’s a very exciting time and one that will be welcomed in our schools,” he said.

Given that social distancing isn’t possible in schools, largely due to a lack of space and many students, Maze said it will be important for students to get vaccinated.

For teachers who were pushing last year for priority access to vaccines because of their vulnerability to illness while dealing with many kids in close spaces, the news is “one more piece of the puzzle,” Maze said.

While most school divisions already have some form of vaccine mandate for adults, the vaccine for children is “another important step,” according to Maze.

He said it could also lead to mandating vaccinations for children to attend school.

“Definitely, kids have the right to an education but…we’ve proven that we can offer education online. It’s not preferable but at the same point, that is an option for students who refuse to get vaccinated,” Maze explained.

If that happens, students who don’t get vaccinated or whose parents won’t allow them to get their shots would move to online schooling, while students who are vaccinated would attend school in person.

“We would still be offering and adhering to their right to an education, it would just look a little bit different because of their choice to not get vaccinated,” Maze said.

From a safety perspective, Maze said the more people who get vaccinated, the lower the risk of COVID-19 is for everyone at schools. That consideration is especially important when taking into account immunocompromised children and adults in school buildings.

“Hopefully parents will run out and make sure that they get their children vaccinated,” he said. “It’s really critical as a society and community that we all do our part in order to get vaccinated and that includes young children now.”

Saskatchewan Health Minister Paul Merriman said Thursday the province wants to see vaccines go into kids’ arms as soon as possible.

“We’ll be ready as soon as those vaccines hit the ground, as soon as they’re distributed out from the federal government,” Merriman said.

According to data released by the Government of Saskatchewan on Friday, 13,442 of Saskatchewan’s 80,025 COVID cases to date were kids under the age of 11.

— with files from CKOM Staff

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell