What we know about the Alberta plans for the possible approval of COVID-19 vaccine for kids
CBC
A COVID-19 vaccine for young kids could be approved in the near future but Alberta health officials have revealed few details about how and when parents may be able to book an appointment should Health Canada give the green light.
On Friday, Health Canada's chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma said Canada's review of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of five to 11 should be completed within the next "one to two weeks."
"As with all of the COVID-19 submissions, we're doing it on a priority basis and we have a dedicated team that's looking at that data and that data is not just the clinical data, but as well the formulation," she told a Public Health Agency of Canada briefing in Ottawa Friday.
"And we look at that in the Canadian context for the ... possible use in children."
But what will the rollout of the vaccine for kids aged five to 11 look like in Alberta?
Here's what we know so far about Alberta's plans for Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for young children if approved.
A spokesperson with Alberta Health said Wednesday that while parents are waiting for Health Canada's review of the vaccine application, they should register their child online through the Alberta Vaccine Booking System.
Parents have been able to do this for a while, as the system has allowed anyone with an Alberta Health Care number to register since it launched.
But parents won't be able to book an appointment yet for those in the five to 11-year-old age group.
An Alberta Health spokesperson said it will make appointments available "as soon as possible" after the vaccine is approved and has arrived in Canada.
Alberta's health authorities are providing few details.
An Alberta Health spokesperson referred to Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw's Tuesday COVID-19 briefing when asked about the province's rollout plans.
Hinshaw said plans are in the works for clinics and locations to offer the vaccine to kids in that age group if approved and that the provincial government is in regular contact with Health Canada officials.
"They will provide us a heads up but of course their process has to go through all the typical steps and so they are really not able to tell us a precise day but we are in regular communication with them," Hinshaw said Tuesday.
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