Another vaccine tool has been added in the fight against COVID-19 – Pfizer booster shots have just been approved for children aged five to 11.
It’s the first booster – which is given after two initial vaccine doses – approved by Health Canada for this age group.
However, the one-dose vaccination rate of children remains much lower than that of adults - across B.C., 92 per cent of people have received two vaccinations while this number for kids aged five to 11 is just 46 per cent, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC).
The number of vaccinated kids, nevertheless, is on average higher in Richmond than in the rest of the province.
In Richmond, the rate of kids (aged five to 11) who’ve received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine hovers between 66 per cent and 79 per cent, varying by neighbourhood.
Across the province, the one-dose vaccination rate for kids (five to 11 years old) is 58 per cent. (BCCDC doesn’t list Richmond numbers for two-dose vaccinations in this age group.)
Meanwhile, the number of Richmond adults (18 and older) who are vaccinated with two doses ranges from 90 per cent in the Blundell and Broadmoor neighbourhoods to 98 per cent in City Centre.
COVID-19 vaccines for children weren’t rolled out until late 2021 whereas adults starting receiving vaccinations starting already in January 2021.
The province said Thursday there are currently 366 people in hospital in B.C. with COVID-19. Of these, 22 were in intensive care.
For information about registering your child for a COVID-19 vaccine, click here.
- With files from Glacier Media
