Pfizer COVID booster dose approved for kids between 5 and 11

Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Health Canada is authorizing a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children between five and 11 years old.

Tam says the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends children with underlying health conditions be offered a booster no earlier than six months after their second dose.

NACI’s advice says all other children in that age group may also be offered a booster.

Vaccine uptake in that age group is much lower than in all older demographics, with 42 per cent of kids aged five to 11 vaccinated with two doses.

The vaccine rate in every older demographic is higher than 83 per cent.

However, booster uptake among teenagers is also quite low, with fewer than one in five 12 to 17-year-olds receiving a booster eight months after NACI authorized them to get one.

Tam says nationally the latest wave of COVID-19 appears to be either at or past its peak with cases and hospitalizations waning in most regions.