National

Bivalent COVID booster OK'd for kids

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Dec, 2022 11:16 AM

OTTAWA - Health Canada has approved a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster for use in children ages five to 11, which targets the original strain of the coronavirus and more recent variants.

The Pfizer vaccine is the first "bivalent" shot to be approved for use in children.

Health Canada says in a press release that after the thorough review, it has found the vaccine is safe and effective and that its benefits outweigh any potential risks when used as a booster dose.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization strongly recommends children with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions be offered a dose of the new vaccine at least six months after they receive their first two COVID-19 shots.

The recommendation for other children in the age group is more discretionary, and NACI suggests the bivalent booster "may be" offered.

For now, only one COVID-19 booster shot is recommended for all kids in that age group.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Commons committee to investigate Rogers outage

The July 8 outage affected Rogers mobile and internet users, knocked out ATMs, shut down the Interac payments system and prevented calls to 911 services in some Canadian cities.

Commons committee to investigate Rogers outage

Video shows Malik's killers waiting: police

Sgt. David Lee of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team told a news conference that a white Honda CRV pulled up near the scene of the shooting at around 7 a.m. and Malik was shot and killed at about 9:30 that morning. "The occupants were waiting for Mr. Malik," he said.

Video shows Malik's killers waiting: police

B.C. Appeal Court rejects private-care challenge

The panel of three Appeal Court justices did find the lower-court judge erred in his analysis of the right to life, saying the provincial act's provisions do deprive some patients, not only of the right to security of the person, but of the right to life.

B.C. Appeal Court rejects private-care challenge

B.C. opens registry for kids' COVID-19 vaccination

Acting provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie says they know the vaccines are safe and have helped the province weather the pandemic. While most children who are infected with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, he says others can get very sick.

B.C. opens registry for kids' COVID-19 vaccination

BC Wildfire Service crews respond near Lytton

EComm, the 911 emergency communication operator for most of the province, said in a statement that landline and cell service is unavailable in Lytton and for the areas nearby of Boston Bar and Spences Bridge, but Brach said the outage is believed to be unrelated to the fire.

BC Wildfire Service crews respond near Lytton

Rooftop parking lot collapses in Vancouver

The incident had closed Lougheed Highway between Rupert Street and Boundary Road, a major route for traffic. Emergency Health Services says the two patients were transported to hospital. It did not provide details on their condition.