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'Very emotional': Excitement as first COVID-19 vaccines administered to kids 5-11 in Manitoba

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WINNIPEG -

The first COVID-19 vaccine appointments for children ages 5-11 in Manitoba occurred Wednesday afternoon and it was an emotional moment for Krista Clark, a mother of two.

“I am very excited,” Clark said while holding back tears. “It’s very emotional and I am super excited for my kids.”

She said she was lucky to snag two appointments for her children Jacob, 10, and Mary-elle, 8, on the first day of vaccination.

The two siblings were jumping for joy outside of the RBC Convention Centre ahead of their first-dose appointment.

“Once everyone gets vaccinated, we won’t have to close school and sports, and like we can go back to our normal lives,” said Jacob.

He remembers how excited he was a few days ago when his mom told him and his sister it was their turn to get the shot.

“I felt like, ‘yay we’re finally going to get vaccinated,’ like, I don’t have to worry about cancelling sports because I’m a goalie in hockey and it’s like really important to me.”

Jacob said he has been talking about it with his friends who are also getting vaccinated in the coming days.

“I know that a couple of my friends are also getting vaccinated today and after this, we are going to go to Boston Pizza and have a celebratory dinner,” he said.

Krista said this year has been much better than last year for her two kids.

“Because there was no hockey for him, no activities for either of them,” she said. “The more people get vaccinated, the more opportunities we have to return to normal and that’s what we want.”

Now that the kids have their first dose, Krista said she is most excited to see family members who do not live in Manitoba.

“Now for the holidays, I feel a lot more confident that we can take my kids home and see their grandparents for Christmas so we are pretty excited about that.”

Krista also said she is feeling hopeful knowing how many other Manitoba parents have already booked their children in for their first doses.

Dr. Joss Reimer said as of Wednesday afternoon more than 23,000 pediatric appointments had been booked in Manitoba, and the number is growing.

The province has previously said there are about 125,000 children in the 5-11-year-old age group. 

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