Alberta hopes to vaccinate children under the age of 5 against COVID-19 by the end of July. Globalnews.ca

In Alberta, parents of children under five will not have to wait long to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a provincial spokesman.

On Thursday, Health Canada approved the use of Modern Spikewax for children aged six months to five years. It is the first approved vaccination against the coronavirus for nearly two million children in that age group in the country.

Alberta health spokeswoman Lisa Glover said the province is finalizing details to get shots for hundreds of thousands of children in the province.

“As always, our plan to deliver this vaccine to Alberta will depend on supplies from the federal government,” she wrote in an email.

“We expect to be able to get an initial supply and start rolling out this vaccine by the end of this month.”

Dr. Leonora Sachsinger, an infectious disease doctor and professor at the University of Alberta, said many parents would be happy that their children can start a course of vaccinations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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Health Canada approves modern COVID-19 vaccine for children under five

“If they’re in a fairly low-risk situation and (parents) are thinking about timing, it’s important to know that this is going to be the primary series for kids,” she told Global News. “There’s not going to be a new vaccine releasing this fall for children.

“So it’s probably a fair thing to consider before it starts in the fall, before preschool or whatever.”

The infectious diseases doctor noted at another time when to get a young child vaccinated against COVID-19.

Saxinger said, “I think for a lot of parents, if their child has recently been infected with COVID, they’ll need at least two months after COVID infection before actually starting a booster in the primary series. want to stay for.”

Glover said the provincial government would release more information about the availability of shots as soon as possible, and noted that vaccinations would be done through Alberta Health Services because this age limit is outside the purview of pharmacists.

-With files from Morgan Black, Global News