First COVID-19 vaccine approved for kids 6 months to 5 years in Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, Halton and across Canada

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Published July 14, 2022 at 10:01 am

Health Canada is expected to give an update on the approval of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for infants and preschoolers between the ages of six-months and five-years old. A family arrives for an appointment at a COVID-19 immunization clinic in Regina, Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Michael Bell)

Canada’s drug regulator has approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for infants and preschoolers, making it the first vaccine approved for that age group in Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton and the rest of the country.

Health Canada now says the Moderna vaccine can be given to young children between the ages of six months and five years old in doses one-quarter the size of that approved for adults.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is expected to provide advice on its use later today.

The approval expands COVID19 vaccine eligibility to nearly two million children in Canada, though the availability of the vaccine will be determined by provinces.

The vaccine requires two dose given about four weeks apart.

RELATED: Fourth dose booking opens today for 18 plus in Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton and across Ontario

Pfizer’s paediatric COVID19 vaccine for young children between six-months and five-years old was submitted to Health Canada last month and is still under review.

The announcement comes on the same day that many adults across Ontario can book second booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines.

The provincial booking site is set to allow anyone 18 and older who had their first booster at least five months ago to book another shot as of 8 a.m. on Thursday.

Previously, fourth doses were only available to immunocompromised people, those aged 60 and older, and Indigenous people.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore is signalling that people who don’t have underlying health conditions may choose to wait for the fall, when it’s hoped that vaccines specifically targeting the Omicron variant will become available.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2022.

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