OHSWEKEN — Ohsweken Public Health says paediatric doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be available to children aged 5-12 starting November 26.
Appointments must be booked to have your child vaccinated and can be arranged by calling the Vaccine Call Centre at 226-227-9288.
Currently anyone 12 and over seeking a first or second dose vaccine can also walk-in at the Dajoh Youth and Elders centre in Ohsweken, 1738 Fourth Line; Monday to Friday from 9am – 4pm and Saturday appointments are available from 9am – 2pm.
Individuals seeking a booster dose vaccine must book an appointment.
Health Canada approved last week the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11, and Canada received its first shipment of pediatric doses on the weekend.
Ten young kids rolled up their sleeves in Toronto to become the first to receive child-sized doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Ontario Tuesday, hours after families across the province went online to book long-awaited shots for children aged five to 11.
The first jabs went into little arms late in the afternoon after some pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech shots arrived early at a vaccine clinic. The City of Toronto said children connected with SickKids Hospital were offered the first shots.
Health Minister Christine Elliott, who was on site, thanked the “very brave” children for doing their part to end the pandemic.
“They really, truly were superheroes, coming forward to receive the vaccination,” she said. “They’re protecting not only themselves, but their friends and their grandparents and parents and their community.”
Stickers and applause were handed out after the kids got their needles. The city said a small number of clinics would vaccinate children on Wednesday, before appointments for many more in the young cohort pick up Thursday.
The province said more than 87,500 vaccine appointments for young kids had been booked using its portal as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. That didn’t include bookings through individual health units, pharmacies and primary care sites offering the shots.
The provincial booking system officially opened for child appointments at 8 a.m., though some parents reported they were able to sign on slightly earlier.
In Norfolk County, Teri Mackinnon had trouble accessing her local health unit’s booking portal, but after waiting a few hours she was able to book a Dec. 3 shot for her 10-year-old daughter Emma.
Mackinnon said she would have preferred an earlier appointment given the rising COVID-19 cases in the Haldimand-Norfolk area and high-risk health conditions in her family, but she said it’s still a good feeling to finally have her daughter booked after nearly two years of public health precautions.
“It’s so much better just to know that it’s finally come for them,” Mackinnon said by phone. “This is kind of a means to an end for them, where they get to have more of a life again.”
