Many parents in Alberta are frustrated that the provincial government isn’t moving faster to begin vaccinating children under five against COVID-19 — and they’re calling for swift action.
Pediatric doses of Moderna for children between six months and five years of age were authorized by Health Canada two weeks ago.
And while all other provinces either already offer vaccines or at least allow reservations, Alberta’s government has yet to release a detailed plan, other than it expects to begin vaccinating young children by the end of July.
“It makes me angry … and envious of other provinces,” said Edmonton mother Ameila Vella, who is anxiously waiting to vaccinate her daughter, who turns four in August, against COVID.
Amelia Vella, pictured here with her daughter, says she’s disappointed the provincial government hasn’t at least provided parents with information about its plans to vaccinate young children. (Submitted by Amelia Vella)
In an effort to protect her from infection, Vela was very cautious and decided not to plan a family vacation this summer.
The lack of any detailed information from the provincial government is a major concern for her.
“I would see it as a big failure. We have not received any communication as to when we will actually be allowed to book a vaccine for our daughter.’
Thousands of doses have been delivered
According to the federal government’s website, 46,700 doses of Moderna’s pediatric vaccine had been distributed in Alberta as of Thursday and 34,400 had been delivered as of July 21, a week earlier.
Alberta Health did not respond to CBC’s latest inquiries. But on July 25, a spokesman said a plan was still being developed.
Two weeks ago
Every province except AB and NL reserves or administers injections.
Complete silence from
👏 Open the pediatric booking today 👏 https://t.co/TEljiXi7Vp
—@ab_vax
“We are currently finalizing the details of what this will mean for Alberta.” As always, our planning to release this vaccine in Alberta will depend on supplies from the federal government,” spokeswoman Charity Wallace said in a statement emailed to CBC News.
“We expect to receive an initial shipment and be able to start rolling out this vaccine by the end of this month. We will inform Albertans of next steps as soon as possible.”
CBC News received the exact same statement on July 14, when Health Canada first gave the green light to Moderna’s pediatric vaccine.
“It’s really disappointing that other provinces already have this dose in children’s hands and our province hasn’t even given us an update on the timing,” said Calgarian David Cloutier, who has two children under the age of five.
David Cloutier, pictured here with his family, took his children to the United States for their first doses of the vaccine and is pushing for the Alberta government to release its doses of the Moderna pediatric vaccine. (Submitted by David Cloutier)
He took both his children to the US for their first dose and can’t wait to vaccinate them with the second.
“The fact that there is [46,700] doses that have been imported into this province and we have no information about the delivery, it is so frustrating as a parent,” he said.
“I feel so left out. And I feel like I have no way of getting answers. Because I can’t reach anyone. No one is sharing any information about how these doses will reach children who are eligible for this vaccine.”
Calls, emails go unanswered
Fed up with Alberta’s pace of implementation, many parents took to Twitter in an attempt to pressure the province to take action. And the group Vax Hunters Alberta urged parents to contact the premier and health minister.
“I feel really disappointed … It’s been tough,” Edmonton father Greg Beaver said.
He called and emailed government officials, including Health Secretary Jason Copping, with no response.
“Both federally and provincially, I feel like there’s been very little communication,” he said.
“The urgency is gone. As parents of a three year old we feel pretty left out… They didn’t seem to care if the kids got COVID or not. This is a new virus. We’re only two years down the line, you don’t know what the long-term effects could be.”
Advocacy group Support our Students Alberta is also hearing from worried parents, particularly those whose children will be starting kindergarten in the fall.
“Time is of the essence, and we’re kind of wasting it by getting closer to school, not knowing when we can get tryouts for the younger kids,” said Wing Lee, the group’s director of communications.
Li, whose child starts school in September and is not yet eligible, said that because there are still no public health measures and no vaccines for the youngest, many parents feel the need to be hypervigilant.
“Kindergarten starting in a school year — the fourth school year affected by COVID — and I would say we have the fewest protections this year,” Li said.
“It’s scary not having even the most basic tools that are available elsewhere. Just not in this province yet.”
“It’s very worrying because it kind of points to the overall attitude towards vaccination for children – that it’s not as urgent in the messaging from the government’s point of view.”
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