SHA COVID-19 vaccination clinics will begin this week to give doses for children ages six months to five years old.
Booking begins on Thursday, with priority given to children who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. Saskatchewan will receive 13,000 doses of the new Moderna vaccine for children, and health officials expect to administer all 13,000 doses before the second shipment arrives in August.
“We are working to provide as many opportunities as possible for parents to get their children immunized against COVID-19,” SHA executive director of Primary Health Care Sheila Anderson said in a press release. “We hop the added convenience encourages all parents who wish to have their children vaccinated, to do so as soon as they can.”
The initial recommendation is to give children an eight-week interval between the first and second dose. However, children who are moderately to severely immunocompromised will receive three doses, with a break of four to eight weeks between doses.
Children who have been infected with the virus should wait at least eight weeks after the infection to receive their first dose. Immunocompromised children should wait four to eight weeks.
“Once appointments for those 13,000 doses are filled, appointments for children under five will be paused until additional vaccine supply is delivered,” the SHA press release reads. “The SHA will offer this pediatric vaccine across the province. A variety of clinics will be offered, including walk-in, booked appointments and with extended hours.”
Parents or guardians of immunocompromised children between six months and five years of age can book appointments only by calling 1-833-727-5829. Booking opens for immunocompromised children at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, July 21, and to all children at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 22.
Indigenous Services Canada and the Northern Inter-Tribal Authority will operate vaccination clinics in First Nation and Métis communities.
Pharmacies cannot provide vaccinations to children younger than five, so they will not be involved in this vaccine rollout.
Health Minister Paul Merriman said he’d hopes the new vaccination campaign will inspire residents of all ages to get vaccinated or boosted.
“The third and fourth doses matter,” Merriman said in a media release. “They will afford protection against serious COVID-19 outcomes, even with the latest variants of concern.”
Saskatchewan plans to expand booster dose eligibility by mid-August. Currently, all residents ages 12 years and older are eligible for a third dose, while those ages 50 and older can receive a fourth dose.
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine and Saskatchewan’s rollout, visit Saskatchewan.ca/COVID19-vaccine.