Manitoba's Health Minister says Manitoba is planning for the COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for young children as Health Canada's clinical review is nearing its end.

Premier Heather Stefanson, Health and Seniors Care Minister Audrey Gordon, and Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead of the Vaccine Implementation Task Force are announcing that they are preparing for Pfizer's 10-microgram COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for young children. Reimer is anticipating the vaccine for youth aged five to 11 to be approved.

"We are getting very close to reaching a new milestone; one that will make all children in Manitoba aged five to 11 will have the chance to be protected from COVID-19 through immunization," Gordon says. 

Open appointments are being saved, but parents cannot book appointments for their children yet. Gordon says "the time is now" to start having conversations about the COVID-19 vaccine in families.

She says the vaccine will be available in Manitoba as soon as one week after its approval. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization will give guidance. There are no recommendations yet for first and second dose intervals. Children who get their first dose when they are 11 and second when they are 12 will have the 10 microgram dose first, and 30-microgram dose for the second.

Vaccinations will be available at locations such as pediatrician offices, pharmacies, and supersites. School vaccination programs will be conducted.

The province is hoping to start the campaign before the holidays, but say it depends on when the vaccine becomes approved for the younger children. Parental consent will be needed, and parents with differing opinions for their child will be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

Public Health says three-quarters of surveyed Manitoban parents say they will vaccinate their children against COVID-19, but those statistics vary greatly depending on the parent's own vaccination status. 

Cases in children

There are roughly 125,000 children between the age of five and 11 in Manitoba. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 6,091 COVID-19 cases in this age group. This includes 27 hospitalizations and seven children being admitted to intensive care. Throughout the pandemic, it has been noted that younger children tend to have less-severe side effects from COVID-19.

Reimer says cases numbers in students aged 12-17 have been dramatically lower compared to other age groups "which really shows us how well the vaccine is working in that age group."

"We can just see that play out in the lower number of outbreaks in those grades and the lower number of cases overall," Reimer says, anticipating vaccinations in younger children to have the same effect. 

There have been 991 student cases in schools. Provincial data shows 284 schools have had one or more COVID-19 cases. 

Since September, 13 Manitobans schools have had classes go online due to outbreaks.

 

Vaccine uptake survey results

In a small survey conducted by the province, they found that 75 per cent of all parents will have their five to 11-year-old vaccinated, 15 per cent did not know, and 10 per cent will not get their child vaccinated. For unvaccinated parents, that number is drastically lower. 

Ninety-one per cent of unvaccinated parents say they will not get their child vaccinated again COVID-19 and the remaining nine per cent said they did not know. 

Vaccinated parents had a much higher rate of willingness to get their children vaccinated (81 per cent) with very few (four per cent) unwilling and the remaining not knowing.

The province says the largest factors parents are considering is if there has been enough testing for the COVID-19 vaccine and the long-term side effects The province says they will be continuing to share fact-based information with the public.

The province says they are revamping the current Protect MB campaign to appeal to children, and doing outreach to target women between the age of 25-54 with interests in parenting.

Parents told the province religious views (61 per cent) and the hassle of getting vaccinations (81 per cent) are not a factor in their decision.

 

Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre and the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre are working on a pilot project to find alternative ways to get an immunization card for people without a mailing address.

"These organizations request the card on the person’s behalf, then print out a copy of the QR code and seal it in a wallet-sized sleeve," the province says in a Wednesday press conference.

The viral-vector vaccine Janssen will be available to Manitoban adults by the end of the week at some pharmacies and medical clinics.

"Individuals are considered fully immunized 14 days after receiving their single dose. However, due to the relatively lower effectiveness of Janssen, the province recommends a second dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) be given at least six months after the first dose."

To date, 2,124,592 doses of vaccine have been administered.