Health Canada has approved the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech as a booster dose for children ages 5 to 11.
Canada’s chief public health official, Dr. Theresa Tam, said Friday that updating vaccines before fall is a “top priority.”
“This booster dose provides a great option for restoring protection for this age group, especially for those at high risk of disease,” she said.
Tam said a 10 microgram booster dose can be given at least six months after completing an initial series of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Also on Friday, the National Immunization Advisory Committee (NACI) Recommendations issued Saying that children ages 5 to 11 with an underlying medical condition that puts them at risk of severe disease from COVID-19 — including those who are immunocompromised and who received three first doses — should receive a booster dose.
For all other children ages 5 to 11, the NACI recommends that a booster dose “can be offered” at least six months after completing the initial series of the COVID-19 vaccine.
NACI recommendations suggest that a longer interval between doses may result in a better response after any subsequent dose because it allows time for the immune response to mature “in breadth and strength.”
The recommendations also say that a bivalent vaccine will be available for use in adults in the coming months, but “it is unclear if and when a bivalent pediatric vaccine will be available because trials are still ongoing.”
Vaccination rates
Vaccine uptake in the 5- to 11-year-old group is significantly lower than in all older age groups, with about 42 percent of 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated with two doses, according to federal data as of July 17.
The vaccination rate in every older demographic is above 83 percent.
However, booster uptake among adolescents is also low, with less than one in five adolescents aged 12 to 17 years receiving a booster eight months after the NACI authorizes them to have one.
Nationwide, Tam says, the latest wave of COVID-19 appears to have peaked or passed, with cases and hospitalizations declining in most areas.
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