Vaccination against COVID-19 for children aged 6 months to 5 years began on Monday across the province. Just under 6,000 appointments have been made by parents since Public Health opened vaccination to this age group last Thursday.
Posted at 7:17 p.m.
Parents were present at the Pointe-Saint-Charles vaccination center in Montreal, where two vaccination cubicles welcomed clients under 5 years old.
“There was more traffic at the start of the day,” says Kathia Pellerin, site manager of the vaccination center affiliated with the Integrated University Health and Social Services Center (CIUSSS) of Centre-Sud-de-l’Île- from Montreal. The staff was already well prepared and the space was arranged accordingly. »
For Monique Rezende, mother of Thomaz, 4, and Beatriz, 16 months, the decision to have them vaccinated was an easy one.
“I am a biologist and I have no hesitations. I think the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks, ”explains the mother of the family alongside her spouse.
“It wasn’t that bad,” his son Thomaz said after the injection, proud of his new stickers.
Laura Pavelka had no hesitation or apprehension when it came to making an appointment for her two four-year-old and one-and-a-half-year-old sons. “I think we celebrated when the vaccine was approved for them,” she says. I’m quite surprised they haven’t caught COVID so far, especially since they’re going to daycare. »
For Sébastien Langlois, getting his little Damien, aged three and a half, vaccinated is above all a rational and informed choice. “I am a former healthcare worker, so I was among the first to receive the vaccine. As soon as I learned that the vaccination was open for 6 months and over, I made an appointment on Clic Santé,” he explains.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Sébastien Langlois with his three-and-a-half-year-old son Damien at the Pointe-Saint-Charles vaccination center in Montreal.
Like several parents present on site, Michael Rowe shares a similar point of view. “I came here because I believe that it will benefit the whole population if my 3-year-old daughter is vaccinated, in addition to protecting her,” he says. We know it’s the right thing to do. He was promised ice cream right after. »
He admits to having had initial questions about vaccination in toddlers, but after doing some research on the vaccine given to young children, his fears were dispelled.
Parents divided
The Pointe-Saint-Charles vaccination center offers Moderna’s Spikevax vaccine, suitable for children aged 6 months to 4 years. It contains a quarter of a dose administered to adults.
The Committee on Immunization of Quebec (CIQ) in turn gave its endorsement to the vaccine, saying that it generates a “good immune response in children after two doses” with a reduced dosage, had detailed the Ministry of Health and Social Services in a statement.
For immunocompromised children, the CIQ recommends three doses, using a minimum interval of four weeks between each dose. A single dose is enough for a healthy child who has already had COVID-19.
The under-5s are the latest age group to gain clearance for vaccination from Health Canada, which approved Moderna’s vaccine for young children on July 14.
The Director of Public Health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, announced last Thursday at a press conference that the province had obtained a first delivery of 70,000 doses for children. Quebec has approximately 400,000 children aged 6 months to 4 years.
However, only 44% of parents intend to have their child vaccinated against COVID-19, reveals a survey by the National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) of July 12.
In addition, 40% of parents would not intend to do so at all and 16% would still be undecided.
Among parents who do not intend to have their child vaccinated, 23% admit to having fears related to the possible side effects of the vaccines against COVID-19.
Another 23% do not see the usefulness of the vaccine, believing that the health risks for their child are low.
In third place among the reasons given for refusing vaccination to their child, 16% of parents consider their child too young to receive this vaccine.
With The Canadian Press