Pediatricians urge Alberta to reinstate masks for kids, boost COVID-19 vaccination rates
CBC
As it peels away public health measures, the Alberta government is facing a growing wave of calls to make COVID-19 vaccines more accessible to children. Among those speaking up are pediatricians who say in a letter it's too early to lift restrictions.
The mask requirement for school kids was removed on Monday and, at the same time, children under 13 were exempted from the provincial mask mandate.
All this comes at a time when Alberta's COVID immunization rates among children are sputtering and lower than many other provinces.
According to Alberta Health data, 21.3 per cent of five- to 11-year-olds have two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 46.7 per cent have one dose.
"That's something we as pediatricians are concerned about," said Dr. Sam Wong, president of the Alberta Medical Association's section of pediatrics.
He co-wrote a letter on behalf of the group calling on the premier, health minister and education minister to keep COVID-19 measures in place, reinstate masking and address Alberta's low vaccination rates among kids.
"Although COVID is often milder in children, it is not harmless," the letter said, pointing to increased pediatric hospitalizations during the Omicron-driven wave, particularly among very young children, and the negative impacts of isolation, school closures and activity cancellations when spread isn't properly controlled.
"Your government's plans for removal of public health measures have come without the necessary commitment to investing in protecting our children and communities.… We need a strong and clear message from your government that acknowledges the evidence that COVID vaccines are safe and one of the best ways to protect our children backed by equally strong measures to improve accessibility to pediatric COVID vaccinations."
READ | The entire letter from the Alberta Medical Association's section of pediatrics calling for COVID-19 measures to be kept in place:
According to Wong, that could include offering pediatric COVID vaccines in school-based clinics, at family doctors' offices, in far more pharmacies, and in places accessible by public transit.
Doses for five- to 11-year-olds are currently offered at Alberta Health Services' clinics and by a limited number of pharmacists in communities without AHS clinics.
Wong is worried transmission rates, school absenteeism and hospitalizations will jump without masks in schools.
"I think that we could do a better job as a province to improve the vaccination rate for these kids in this age group by making it easier for parents to bring their kids in to get vaccinated," he said in an interview.
At Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, Dr. Cora Constantinescu is worried about kids under 12 as public health restrictions are lifted.
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