18,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments booked for children in Manitoba Monday

WINNIPEG -

Thousands of Manitoba parents jumped at the opportunity to book a COVID-19 vaccine for their children Monday morning.

Health Canada approved the Pfizer vaccine for children between the ages of five and 11 late last week. Appointments opened for this age group in Manitoba on Monday morning at 6 a.m.

"It was an early start. I got up at about 5:30 a.m. to get logged in and ready to go for 6," said Susan Wingert.

Wingert said she did have issues loading the province's booking website, but was able to book an appointment her child scheduled for later this week.

"The prospect of school being safe and not going remote anymore and returning to normal extracurricular activities and all that stuff, he's pretty pumped about it," Wingert said.

As Monday evening, a provincial spokesperson told CTV News around 18,000 appointments have been booked.

“We do expect that according to the results of our research here in Manitoba a large majority of parents will be getting their children immunized,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of the Vaccine Implementation Task Force, at a news conference on Monday.

“I want to assure you that we will have ample supply of the vaccine to meet this demand.”

Reimer noted the province expects a shipment of the pediatric vaccine to arrive in Winnipeg on Tuesday. She added that the vaccine will be arriving at participating medical clinics and pharmacies between Nov. 25 and 29.

“Let me be clear that none of the pharmacies or clinics currently have the pediatric vaccine, but they will very soon,” she said.

“As soon as the details are finalized on which sites will have the vaccine, we will update the vaccine finder map so you can look there to see where all of the options are available to you.”

Parents can currently book appointments at provincial vaccine clinics, with the first appointments starting on Thursday.

“There’s more good news. The clinical trials show that even with the lower dose, the immune response in younger children was just as good in people aged 16 to 26,” she said, noting there were also no cases of myocarditis identified in the trial for this age group.

Reimer said that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends a dosing interval of eight weeks between the first and second for kids aged five to 11.

“Likewise, for most children, Manitoba will use an eight-week interval between dose one and dose two,” she said.

“The eight-week interval has been shown to provide a stronger and longer-lasting protection against COVID-19. However, in some situations doses may be given closer together after discussing the risks and the benefits with your child’s health-care provider or as recommended by the relevant public health authority.”

RBC CONVENTION CENTRE TO STOP ACCEPTING WALK-INS

The province's booking system is now open for the 5 to 11 age group with the first appointments scheduled for later this week.

The vaccine site at the RBC Convention Centre will stop accepting walk-in appointments later this week as the province prepares to start vaccinating kids aged five to 11 against COVID-19.

The Manitoba government made the announcement on Monday, saying it is making the change as it anticipates a high number of appointments for kids aged five to 11. The new policy at the convention centre will take effect on Thursday. Nov. 25.

Manitobans will still be able to get vaccinated at the RBC Convention Centre by making an appointment online or by calling the vaccine call centre at 1-844-626-8222.

-with files from CTV's Michelle Gerwing