Manitoba has expanded its COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to include children between 6-months and 4-years-old.
The province is receiving an initial shipment of 14,900 doses of the Moderna vaccine for kids, which Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Brent Roussin expects will arrive by the end of this week.
Since it is a limited supply, Roussin says priority will be given to children in that age group who are most at-risk for COVID-19, including those who:
- have certain medical conditions including:
- chronic lung disease,
- airway abnormalities,
- congenital or chronic heart or circulatory diseases,
- moderately to severely immunocompromised due to a medical condition or treatment,
- neurologic disorders (including developmental delay),
- diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or any chronic disease related to premature birth; or
- are First Nations, Inuit or Métis, regardless of where they live.
Parents and caregivers of eligible children can begin booking appointments on Monday, at 8 a.m., using the online vaccine finder, at protectmb.ca, or calling 1-844-626-8222.
Roussin says appointments will be available at regional vaccine sites, public health offices and medical clinics. A second vaccine shipment is expected in late July or early August.
There are approximately 76,700 children in Manitoba in this age group.
Numbers from the province show more than 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to date. Approximately 43 percent of children ages 5-11 are fully immunized, and nearly 80 percent of young people aged 12-17 have at least two doses of vaccine.