Ontario Is 'Ready' To Vaccinate Children 5 To 11 & Here's What We Know So Far

The Ontario government has announced it is now getting prepared to vaccinate children 5 to 11 years old against COVID-19.

As of November 19, Health Canada gave the green light for the Pfizer vaccine to be given to this age group. Following that announcement, Christine Elliott, Ontario's minister of health, and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones put out a statement for how this will play out in Ontario.

"The federal government has provided assurances that we will receive enough doses to vaccinate all children aged five to 11," the statement read.

"We are working with the federal government to confirm and finalize details on the specific timing of shipments, and we stand ready to begin distributing and administering doses as soon as they arrive."

The Ontario government assured that parents will soon learn more about it in the next few days from their local public health units, and vaccines can be found at hospitals, pharmacies, school-based clinics and some doctor's offices.

"Parents will be able to book appointments through the provincial online booking portal for mass vaccination sites, including school-based clinics in public health units using the provincial booking system, starting early next week once we have received final details from the federal government and can confirm allocations for each public health unit," continued the joint statement.

Right now, Ontario is working closely with local public health units, children's hospitals, and other health experts to provide COVID-19 vaccine consultation services for kids, youth, and their families who may have questions about it.

Toronto already announced its vaccine plans

Leading up to Health Canada's official announcement, the City of Toronto said that they are ready to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds as soon as doses are distributed from the government's partners.

"Toronto Public Health estimates that COVID-19 vaccines for children will arrive in Ontario approximately within one week of Health Canada approval. Vaccine distribution across the city is estimated to take two to three days after the vaccine is delivered by the federal and provincial governments," city officials wrote in the news release.

As soon as Pfizer's arrival dates are confirmed by Ontario, Toronto will start opening up slots for parents to book appointments for their children. The City is also prepping its school-based mobile clinics that will be set up throughout the 6ix, with 34 different neighbourhoods so far already signed up for the preliminary rollout.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.