The review of the clinical studies for Pfizer-BioNTech is complete. Health Canada is preparing to give the green light to its COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.
The announcement must be made Friday, according to a confidential source familiar with the matter. The news was first reported on the front page of Toronto Star Thursday morning.
The chief medical adviser of Canada had indicated last week that the regulatory authorities would give their answer within “one or two weeks”. “It’s a priority and we have a team dedicated to it,” Supriya Sharma said at the time.
This announcement is awaited by the Government of Quebec, which has already started planning the vaccination of children. They could therefore receive a first dose by Christmas.
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in children under the age of 10. Quebec public health counted 106 new cases for the day of Wednesday and 218 for the day of Tuesday. This is the most affected group at the moment. However, there are no deaths in this age group or any new hospitalizations.
Quebec will, however, have to wait for the recommendations of its Committee on Immunization before moving forward. Scientists are already revising studies on childhood immunizations elsewhere in the world. In rare cases, Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine could cause inflammation of the heart.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration had already approved this vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 a few weeks ago.