Excitement, relief as Alberta children get their first COVID-19 vaccines
CBC
There were smiles, some tears and hundreds of Band-Aids plastered on little arms as Alberta's COVID-19 vaccination clinics opened their doors to children Friday.
Appointments for Pfizer-BioNTech's pediatric vaccine began Friday morning. Thousands of children were booked to get shots on the first day of the rollout.
As of 8 a.m., 62,739 pediatric appointments for children ages 5 to 11 had been booked across the province, Alberta Health said.
There are 2,057 appointments booked for Friday in Edmonton, and 1,750 appointments in Calgary.
Michelle Power took her sons Christian 7, Scott, 10, and Shane, 11, to get their shots Friday morning at a south Edmonton clinic.
Power said she got up early on Wednesday to ensure she could get appointments for all her boys as soon as possible.
"I'm excited because we are really looking forward to doing some normal things, just hanging out with friends," she said.
"It's been a long time coming."
Power's boys were excited, too, looking forward to spending more time with friends and returning to the classroom with protection against COVID-19.
"I'm excited because soon we'll be able to do stuff again," Shane said. "Being able to have fun all the time and basically just get back to normal."
Pediatric vaccinations, approved by Health Canada last week, are primarily being offered at 120 Alberta Health Services immunization clinics around the province.
The vaccines will also be offered to younger children at four pharmacies in communities with no nearby AHS clinics — Warburg, Clive, Legal and Alix — and at public health clinics and nursing stations in First Nations communities.
Data shows the vaccine is 90.7 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in children between the ages of 5 and 11.
The recommended interval between the first and second doses for children aged five to 11 is at least eight weeks.
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