Children aged 5 to 11 will start getting COVID vaccines on Dec. 2

Vaccines for some of the province's youngest residents will start rolling out early next month.

Children between the ages of five and 11 will start getting their Pfizer pediatric shots on December 2.

“As your chief medical officer of health, I am strongly recommending that all children who are eligible get vaccinated,” said Dr. Robert Strang at a Wednesday briefing.

“While this virus does lead to mild illness in children most of the time, please don't take a chance with their health, or the health of others around them.” 

Strang said officials are finalizing the details on their plan to administer the shots.

“We expect vaccine to start arriving this week, and once we have certainty of the delivery date and time, we will open up appointments and this will be announced publicly,” he said.

Those will need to be scheduled through the province, either online or by calling 1-833-797-7772. Doses will be administered at pharmacies and the IWK.

Children in this age group will need to wait at least eight weeks between their first and second doses. If they turn 12 during that time period, their second shot will be an adult dose.

Strang said these kids should not get any other vaccines 14 days before or after the COVID shot.

“If you do have to make a choice, make the COVID vaccine a priority,” he recommended.

“If your child is 12 and over, they can receive their COVID vaccine and any other vaccines at the same time or closer than 14 days apart,” the doctor added.

There continues to be limited community spread in the Halifax area, and Strang said most of the new cases are in children under the age of 12,

“The cases are shifting from central Halifax into suburban and semi-rural areas in and around the city,” he explained.

“That is having an impact on some schools, but with the rollout of vaccines for children aged five to 11, we can expect to see less activity in the new year.”

Strang said getting this age group vaccinated will bring us one step closer to putting this pandemic behind us.