Alberta expects to be vaccinating children under 5 against COVID-19 by end of July

Parents of kids under five in Alberta won’t have to wait long to get their toddlers vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a provincial spokesperson.

On Thursday, Health Canada approved the use of Moderna Spikevax for kids between six months and five years. It’s the first approved vaccination against the coronavirus for the nearly two-million kids in that age range in the country.

Alberta Health spokesperson Lisa Glover said the province is finalizing details to get shots for hundreds of thousands of kids in the province.

“As always, our planning to roll this vaccine out to Albertans will depend on supply from the federal government,” she wrote in an email.

“We expect to receive an initial supply and be able to begin rolling out this vaccine by the end of this month.”

Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases doctor and professor at the University of Alberta, said lots of parents will be happy their young ones can start their course of vaccination to prevent spreading COVID-19.

6:25 Health Canada approves Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for children under five

“If they’re in a fairly low-risk situation and (parents) are wondering about timing, it is important to know that this is going to be the primary series for children,” she told Global News. “There’s not going to be a newer vaccine released this fall for children.

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“So getting it done before the fall, before preschool or whatever starts, is probably a reasonable thing to consider.”

The infectious diseases doctor noted another consideration on the timing of when to get a young child vaccinated against COVID-19.

“I think for a lot of parents, if their child has recently been COVID-infected, they might actually want to pause for at least two months after COVID infection before starting the booster at the primary series,” Saxinger said.

Glover said the provincial government will release more information about availability of shots as soon as possible, and noted the vaccinations will be done via Alberta Health Services as that age range is outside the scope of pharmacists.

–with files from Morgan Black, Global News