More Mississauga, Brampton children can get COVID-19 vaccine in region

The public health unit for Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon has doubled the number of available vaccination appointments for children age 5 to 11, with the hope more will have protection from COVID-19 before the Christmas holidays.

Peel Public Health said Friday night (Dec. 3) that it is adding tens of thousands of additional appointments to its existing pediatric vaccination booking system. The region will now has more than 55,000 pediatric appointments available for residents and their children at Peel’s public clinics over the next eight weeks, through to Jan. 31.

More than 1,000 additional appointments will also be made available in school-based clinics over the next two weeks. Residents must use Ontario’s vaccine booking system to book appointments.

“This expansion of our pediatric vaccination offerings provides more convenience and options for families to start the vaccination journey for their elementary school-aged child. Getting children aged 5 to 11 vaccinated will help to protect them against rare but severe outcomes and provide greater certainty in school and social interactions,” Dr. Lawrence Loh, Region of Peel’s medical officer of health, said in a statement. “With the holidays approaching, I encourage parents to access this important protection without delay.”

Health Canada recently approved a child-size dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children age 5 to 11.

Peel Public Health is emphasizing that “consideration will be given to ensure the clinic environment makes children and families feel safe and comfortable.” Walk-in appointments for younger children are not available.

More information is available at peelregion.ca/coronavirus.