COVID-19 vaccines for kids aged six months to four years became available for Saskatchewan families July 21-22, and almost 2,000 doses have been administered since.
That’s according to Doug Dahl, media relations manager for the Saskatchewan Health Authority, who sent a statement with a preview of how many kids have already received their vaccine.
“As of July 29, we have given 1,996 doses of the Moderna COVID vaccine to children 6 months – 4 years old,” said Dahl. “As of July 28 at noon, we have 451 appointments booked from July 28-August 12.”
However, Dahl said there were 2,312 appointments available between those dates.
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The next report from the Government of Saskatchewan regarding COVID-19 comes out Aug. 18, and will provide greater insight into how parents in Saskatchewan are responding to the availability of pediatric vaccines.
There has been less and less reporting on the COVID-19 in recent weeks, but Assistant Professor of General Pediatrics at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Ayisha Kurji, said it’s still a good idea to consider getting your kids vaccinated.
“Unfortunately I think some of the perception, especially if we have less reporting and less focus on it, is that it’s gone,” said Kurji said of the pandemic.
“As we head into the fall, and we’re going to be indoors again, the weather is going to get cooler, then school is going to start, I would suspect that the case numbers will go back up again.”
She said another misconception is that COVID-19 doesn’t affect kids, but it does. She said in addition to getting kids vaccinated, parents should continue doing things like wearing a mask indoors, washing hands and staying home when sick to keep kids safe.
In Saskatoon, Raylene Dyck just got her two kids, aged two and four, vaccinated. She says having it done makes for one less stress.
“I was just patient, you know, waiting for that Health Canada approval. You wouldn’t want anything rushed,” said Dyck.
She noted there were no lineups.
In Regina, Colleen Strauch took her daughter, who is almost two, to get her shot.
“She was the last one in our family to receive her vaccine, so we’re thrilled now that she has that additional protection that the vaccine offers,” said Strauch.
“It helps protect those in our community who are more vulnerable, and just shows we are thinking beyond ourselves about others so we can stop the spread of COVID-19.”
She said she’s grateful to the scientists and professionals who are trying to keep everyone safe.
Janelle Hagen also took her five-year-old son to get vaccinated, noting that it was to protect others.
“We’ve always told our kids we’re doing this to protect ourselves, but we’re doing this to protect others as well. So we’re happy that we can do this for our family, but we can also do it for others who can’t be vaccinated.”
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