Doctors Manitoba town hall addresses concerns around pediatric COVID-19 vaccine
With the COVID-19 vaccine now available for children between the ages of 5 and 11 in the province, a group of doctors addressed some questions and concerns parents may have before rolling up their child's sleeve.
Doctors Manitoba hosted a virtual town hall on Tuesday evening about the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Jared Bullard, a section head of pediatric infectious diseases at University of Manitoba and associate medical director of Cadham Lab, said while the risk of COVID-19 is lower for children compared to adults, the virus does still pose a risk.
He said about 17,000 kids in Manitoba have had confirmed cases of COVID-19, including about 80 children who have been in hospital and 16 children who have been in ICU. He said three Manitoba children have died of COVID-19 or complications due to COVID-19.
Dr. Ruth Grimes, president of the Canadian Paediatric Society, said besides protecting your children from any severe outcomes of COVID-19 – vaccinating your child also protects those in the community.
"This is all about protecting our community," Grimes said. "In protecting our own children, we are addressing the concerns for protecting our community."
ARE THERE ANY RISKS OR SIDE EFFECTS IN VACCINATING MY CHILD?
Bullard said the pediatric dose of the Pfizer vaccine – which is one third of a regular dose – has been studied in a group of around 5,000 children. He said researchers have found the vaccine is safe for children and does not cause severe adverse reactions.
"I do fully consider the vaccine safe," he said. "I wouldn't have got it for my son if I didn't believe that."
Dr. Marni Hanna, president of the Manitoba Pediatric Society, said the vaccine may cause some soreness, redness or swelling on the arm where the vaccine is administered when a child gets the shot.
"They may experience fever, chills, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, achy joints, or less commonly, nausea, diarrhea or vomiting and that is most likely to happen within 48 hours of getting the vaccine," she said.
"These systemic effects were less common in the trials with 5 to 11-year-old children compared to people over 12."
She said parents can give their child Tylenol or Advil if their child does have any of these side effects.
Hanna said there is no evidence at all that the vaccine causes any future fertility issues for children, and it does not alter a child's development.
Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead of Manitoba's vaccine implementation task force, said the vaccine does not cause long-term impacts.
"We know a lot about the immune system and how it responds to vaccines, how it responds to infections. And what we see in every other infection and every other vaccine is a lack of long-term surprise side effects," she said.
"We are very reassured that this will be the same thing because the immune system hasn't changed. The way our immune system responds to the triggers that are in that vaccine is not different with this vaccine than it is with other vaccines."
Reimer said the pediatric dose of the Pfizer vaccine is currently the only vaccine approved for children in the 5 to 11 age group in Canada. She said the pediatric vaccine is essentially the same vaccine that is given to adults, it is just a smaller dose.
She said so far in Manitoba, more than 11,200 doses have been administered in this age group.
You can watch the full town hall with the Doctors Manitoba panel here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.