COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics for 5-11 Year Olds Taking Place January 8-9 at Healthy Planet Arena

covid gene

Peterborough Public Health (PPH) is encouraging local families with children aged 5-11 years to get vaccinated this weekend to protect more youth in our community and help blunt the local spread of the Omicron variant.

Two new child-friendly vaccination clinics are planned at the Healthy Planet Arena on Saturday, January 8 and Sunday, January 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Appointments can be booked through the provincial booking system online at www.ontario.ca/covidvaccine or by calling 1-833-943-3900.

Only children who are 5-11 years old at the time of their appointment are eligible to receive the paediatric dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is based on date of birth, not year of birth.

“With 55% of local youth aged 5-11 still requiring their first dose, I urge families to get their children vaccinated as quickly as possible to protect them and help in the community-wide effort to slow the spread of Omicron,” said Dr. Thomas Piggott, Medical Officer of Health. “We are pulling out all the stops to make vaccinations as accessible as we can, and there are currently 3,200 appointments available for those aged 5-11, including over 1,000 this weekend alone.”

Dr. Piggott also reminded residents that eight weeks between doses is recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). However, for parents who consent and want to make the decision to get their child a second dose sooner, the minimum interval between first and second dose of a Pfizer-BioNtech Pediatric COVID-19 vaccine is 21 days.

Residents who wish to receive their second dose appointments earlier than the eight-week interval must book by calling 1-833-943-3900 and providing informed consent. Accelerated second appointments earlier than eight weeks, CANNOT be booked online.

PPH will continue adding more clinics over the coming weeks to help provide the best protection for this age group. Parents and guardians are asked to remember that it does take two weeks after the second dose for full immunity to be in effect.

The Healthy Planet Arena is located at 911 Monaghan Road in Peterborough, ON. For more information about COVID-19, please visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca.

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For further information, please contact:

Brittany Cadence

Communications Manager

705-743-1000, ext. 391