Health Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine for children – CBC

Vaccine approved for use in children ages five to 11

Nov 19, 2021

Health Canada has officially approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine for children ages five to 11, heralding it as more than 90 per cent effective against COVID-19.

“After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, the department has determined that the benefits of this vaccine for children between five and 11 years of age outweigh the risks,” Health Canada wrote in a release Friday morning.

“This is the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in Canada for use in this age group and marks a major milestone in Canada’s fight against COVID-19.”

Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine is delivered in doses one-third the size of those given to adults and kids 12 and older. Health Canada authorized a two-dose regimen to be administered three weeks apart.

However, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) 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 longer spacing may also help decrease the risk even further of a rare side effect of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), NACI said

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pfizer-vaccine-children-delivery-1.6255108