Manitoba task force 'seriously considering' school-based COVID-19 immunizations for young students
The medical lead of Manitoba's Vaccine Implementation Task Force says the province is seriously considering a school-based immunization rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine for young students once Health Canada approves vaccines for children under 12.
For now, only children between the ages of 12 and 17 can roll up their sleeves for a Pfizer shot in Canada.
Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead of the vaccine task force, said Pfizer is currently working on studies regarding the vaccinations of children under 12. She said the earliest Health Canada might approve the vaccines for children is estimated to be in October.
As for what Manitoba's vaccine rollout for children under 12 will look like—that is yet to be determined.
Reimer said the task force is still working on its plans, but it is eyeing the possibility of bringing the vaccine to students in schools.
"Because we have done school-based vaccines for many years, that is something we are seriously considering for COVID as well," she said, adding no plans have been finalized.
"We are working with education to assess the feasibility of running COVID immunization clinics as well as our routine school-based immunization clinics in the schools this year, and we are also trying to take into account how any plans might have to be adjusted if we did see a fourth wave, for example."
She said school-based COVID-19 immunization programs would be a good way to reach children who otherwise would not be able to get a vaccine at other immunization sites.
"It is something that not only takes advantage of the fact that children are all in the same location, but also is something that people are familiar with and comfortable with because we have done it for so many years with other vaccines," Reimer said.
She said when it comes to consenting to a vaccine there is no strict age cut-off. However, Reimer said public health tries to ensure the person who is consenting—regardless of their age—understands the risks, benefits, and alternatives to the decision they are making.
"There is very few, if any, at younger ages who do have that capacity, so parental consent becomes more and more of a requirement the younger that we get," Reimer said. "But there is no strict cut-off for this vaccine, nor is there for any other service in health-care, and we plan to follow the same processes that have been in place for decades."
Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said younger children are at a smaller risk of severe outcomes due to COVID-19.
He said given Manitoba's COVID-19 numbers and vaccine rates, the province believes students will be able to return to school this fall.
He said more details about the return to school will be released later this week.
As of Tuesday, 80 per cent of Manitobans age 12 and up have been vaccinated with at least one dose, while 71.4 per cent have received both doses.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson Airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
'Enormous sum of money': Actor Hugh Grant settles privacy lawsuit against tabloid
British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspaper, The Sun, over claims journalists used private investigators to tap his phone and burgle his house, he said on Wednesday.
O.J. Simpson was chilling with a beer on a couch before Easter, lawyer says. 2 weeks later he was dead
O.J. Simpson's last robust discussion with his longtime lawyer was just before Easter, at the country club home Simpson leased southwest of the Las Vegas Strip. About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was 'transitioning.'
Some of the winners and losers in the 2024 federal budget
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
U.K. plan to phase out smoking for good passes first hurdle
The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.