THUNDER BAY – The head of the Thunder Bay District Health Unit says the arrival of vaccinations for children aged five to 11 could help alleviate outbreaks in local elementary schools.
Dr. Janet DeMille says the roll-out, which begins on Friday, will help add another layer of protection in classrooms, where heretofore students have been largely reliant on COVID-19 precautionary measures such as masking, and where possible, physical distancing.
It’s never been clearer why youth vaccinations are needed.
There’s currently an outbreak declared at St. Martin School, where as many as 20 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Single cases have been announced this week at Ecole Elsie MacGill Public School and St. Ann School.
“Most people in elementary (schools), the kids, haven’t really had an opportunity to be immunized. What we saw recently with this outbreak of the Delta variant, is that it can spread very quickly and impact schooling for a large number of people,” DeMille said.
The approval came from Health Canada last Friday and DeMille said they already had much of what they needed to roll out the youth vaccines in seven short days – including a rush on appointments, though some remain available next week.
There could be a significant impact, she added.
“It is ultimately exciting that that fairly large group of people, five to 11-year-olds, now have the opportunity to be immunized, which is actually going to protect them. We know that kids generally do OK with COVID-19, but there are still some serious outcomes, including some that are particular for kids,” DeMille said.
“Being able to have that protection, it will also protect their families, because that child will now be less likely to bring it home and spread it amongst their family members. The (vaccines) contribute broadly to reducing the spread of COVID in the community. But a very important point is when the rate of immunization at a school goes up, they’ll see less spread of the virus in that setting.”
The uptake from parents has been phenomenal, DeMille said, though that’s not all that surprising. The key will be to see if it's sustainable.
“Anytime we’ve opened up eligibility, there’s always people who are pretty keen and eager and will be the first to be at our door and booking,” she said. “This morning it was over 2,000 people who booked through our clinics, either here or in the district communities where we’re running (clinics).
“As well we know that age group is also eligible to go to pharmacies and primary care, and we have other partners, including our Indigenous partners, that are going to be doing their own clinics.”
At present, full vaccination is required in Canada for most commercial travel and to take part in a host of leisure activities – including indoor dining, fitness centres and movie theatres. Schools are exempt, but DeMille pointed out that when outbreaks happen, the fully vaccinated generally get to remain in class, while the unvaccinated are sent home to isolate and learn remotely.
