Officials at the Middlesex-London Health Unit are preparing for the next major stage of the vaccine rollout: kids aged 5-11.
On Thursday, a report said that Health Canada approval for kids in that age group could come as soon as Friday.
According to multiple sources of the Toronto Star, a delivery of about three million doses of the vaccine is expected to arrive in Canada in the next several days, enough for every eligible child to receive the first dose. However, timelines remain uncertain.
"Once the vaccine is approved by Health Canada, guidance on the use of the vaccine will be provided by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, and the vaccine will start to be sent to the provinces," said Dr. Alex Summers, the Interim Medical Officer of Health for the region. "The Pfizer vaccine for kids under 12 comes in a different vial than previous vaccines, so we can't just use the vials we already have."
"(Vaccinating kids 5-11) is going to happen very quickly," Summers added. "The mass vaccination clinics have been preparing for weeks in order to make our clinics as family and child friendly as possible."
On the media call, Summers also shared an image of a vaccine super hero who will be used to market the shot to children.
A hero crated by the Middlesex-London Health Unit aimed at marketing the COVID-19 vaccine to kids under 5-11.
"The major rate limit step will be the arrival of the vaccine in the Middlesex-London region," Summers said when asked about how quick the rollout might be. "We're still waiting on the details of how exactly quickly that vaccine is going to make its way down to our region."
"We'll actually look at using some weekends and weekdays right after school is over to really focus on pediatric vaccines," he added.
However, even though health officials permitted kids turning 12 in 2021 to be vaccinated, Summers doesn't believe the same will occur for kids born in 2017, who will turn five next year.
"As this time, it is going to be based off of your birthday. You will have to have turned five, rather then turn five in the year," said Summers. "That may change over time."
Summers also noted that the increase for booster shot demand is coming over the next two months, and the Health Unit is prepared for that.
"We know that even of the people that are currently eligible, many will be hitting that six month mark through December and January. Pharmacies and primary care will be a significant contributor to providing booster doses," said Summers.