Doctors say the kids' COVID-19 vaccine is a booster for mental health

Diana Grimaldos keeps getting the same questions from her kids. 

"Is the virus gone? Has the virus gone away?"

Her seven-year-old daughter, Katalina, has always been an anxious child — but it got much worse during the pandemic. 

"She worries," said Grimaldos, who lives in Toronto.

Katalina's anxiety was especially high during lockdown. Although seeing her parents get their COVID-19 vaccines helped, along with going back to school in person, "she's still very fearful," said her mother.

The meteoric rise in mental health issues among children throughout the pandemic is all too familiar for many parents — backed up by study after study and reflected in the practices of health-care providers across Canada.

The best medicine for many children, pediatric experts say, is to restore normalcy in their lives, while staying safe from COVID-19 infection. 

Now that Health Canada has approved Canada's first coronavirus vaccine for kids aged five to 11, many parents and children's health-care providers see light at the end of the tunnel. 

The pandemic's effect on kids extends beyond the threat of COVID-19 making them sick, said Dr. Eddsel Martinez, a pediatrician in Winnipeg and member of the Canadian Paediatric Society's public advisory committee.

The public health measures that had to be taken to save lives have led to isolation, economic insecurity and parental stress, which are all "terrible for mental health," he said.

"We've seen an increase in all sorts of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use and abuse."

Children, in general, are resilient, Martinez said. For many, a return to regular activities, including school, birthday parties, sleepovers and visits with grandparents will do wonders. 

"All those things are extremely important for mental health," he said. "The vaccine is the way that we can get there."

Many kids are also acutely aware of the fact that they can carry the COVID-19 infection and make someone they love ill, both parents and doctors say.