Alberta's restrictions exemption program won't be changed to include children, Kenney says

Regardless of whether they are vaccinated, children aged five to 11 will not be subject to Alberta's restrictions exemption program, Premier Jason Kenney announced Tuesday.

"We want parents to take the time they need to assess their situation, review the data and make the best choice for their kids and their family," Kenney said at a news conference.

"We don't want people to feel rushed or pressured," he said. "The pandemic has been a trying time for every Albertan, and younger children and their parents are certainly no exception."

The vaccine passport did not apply to children under 12 when it was introduced in early September and that won't change, even thoughpediatric vaccinations for COVID-19have arrived in Albertaand parents can begin booking appointmentsstarting Wednesday morning.

Children havealreadysacrificed a lot to help keep others safe, Kenney said.

"Ultimately, we felt that it would be unfair to younger children to exclude them, to further stigmatize them especially given their low risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19."

391,000 Alberta children now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine

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Premier Jason Kenney says children aged five to 11 won't be subject to the restrictions exemption program.

Kenney said making391,000 children eligible for vaccinesmeans almost 94 per cent of the province'spopulation can be vaccinated.

The first pediatric shots will be given on Friday, after the province distributes them to about 120 locations mainlyAlberta Health Services clinics and pharmacies around the province.

Appointments must be booked through the Alberta Vaccine Booking System atalberta.ca/vaccineor by calling Health Link at 811. Walk-ins are not available.

The vaccines will not be made available in schools, saidAlberta Health Minister Jason Copping.

"As you may be aware, we actually ran clinics for kids in junior high and high schools and that wasn't all that successful," Copping said. "Given the scale of the program, we're going to use what's tried and true, which is the AHS high through-put clinics, which has been successful to date."

'Normal life'

The pending launch of pediatric vaccines is a big relief toPreet Bhandal, an Edmonton mother of three.

Her 13-year-old son is already vaccinated but her two young daughters aged nine and 11 are awaiting their shots.

"We can go back to normal life," said Bhandal, whohas already pre-registered her daughters and checking for updates."We've been wanting to go on vacation somewhere it just alleviates all that stress."

The vaccines will also make her feel better about sending her children to school, she said.

Bhandal's son tested positive forCOVID-19in October 2020. No one else in the family got sick but his entire class had to quarantine.

"I know what it's like to be that parent whose child gets it and everybody else has to stay at home. Nobody wants to feel that way,"she said.

"So now, at least protection-wise, everybody who does participate and get itcan have some kind of peace of mind."

Canada'sfirst doses ofCOVID-19 vaccines for children arrived in Hamilton, Ont., on Sunday, just days after Health Canada approved it.The federal government and the pharmaceutical giant have agreed on an accelerated delivery of more than 2.9 million doses.

The pediatric version of the vaccine uses a dosage a third of the size of those given to people 12 and older. There are also other changes to the vaccine, including one allowing it to stay at normal refrigeration temperatures for longer.

Health Canada authorized a two-dose regimen to be administered three weeks apart.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), however, is recommending that the spacing between doses be increased to at least eight weeks, as evidence has been growing that a longer interval generates a more robust immune response.

The pediatric formulation is a 10-microgram(mcg) dose, instead of the 30-mcgdose given to people aged 12 and older.

Big milestone

Vaccinatingchildren is an important milestone in Canada's fight against COVID-19, said Dr. Iris Gorfinkel, a family physician and vaccine researcher in Toronto.

"We cannot stop the spread of COVID-19 unless we achieve 90 per cent of Canada's population being fully vaccinated," she said.

"About 12 per cent of Canada's population is under 12 so this is a tremendous milestone that will move us forward in achieving that herd immunity."

As of mid-November, 75 per cent of Canadians were fully vaccinated, according to federal government data.

While children are less likely to get seriously ill from COVID-19,Gorfinkel said there have been some rare, yet worrying, instances ofhospitalizationand severe outcomesamong minors. The possibility of long COVID is anotherrisk for pediatric patients, she said.

Gorfinkel said the pediatric vaccine trials saw similar results to the adult trials, with vaccinesproving to be nearly 91 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 among children aged five to 11.

"This has pinpoint accuracy," she said.

Alberta cases

Hinshaw announced that 10 more Albertans have died from COVID-19, including a child under the age of two.

"While I will note that this child had complex pre-existing medical conditions that played a significant role, this does not diminish the tragic loss of one so young," Hinshaw said.

There have been a total of 3,227 deaths since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, cases from COVID-19 continue to decline in Alberta. With 253 new cases reported Tuesday, the province nowhas 5,001active cases.

Here's how the active cases break down among the health regions in the province.

Active cases

• Calgary zone: 1,800
• Edmonton zone: 1,087
• North zone: 937
• Central zone: 744
• South zone: 424
• Unknown: 9

Hospitals have475patients with COVID-19, including 94in ICU.

About three-quarters of those in hospital are unvaccinated or partly vaccinated. About 70.7 per cent of Alberta's total population is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

New QR code for travellers

The province alsoannounced Alberta's vaccine record will be updated to meet the recommended Canadian standard for domestic and international travel.

The updated record, whichincludes middle names andis in both official languages, will be available Wednesday atalberta.ca/CovidRecords.

Only Albertanswho intend to travel need to save or reprint the updated version of theQR code vaccine record.