Alberta has the lowest vaccination rates for children among Canadian provinces, according to Public Health Agency of Canada data. COVID19
Ladha said most of the kids in her outpatient clinic have had COVID-19, with some landing in hospital.
“The child is in a lot of stress from a physical perspective, as well as an emotional perspective. And, you know, watching your child get poked over and over and be subjected to different medical interventions in order to help them recover is really traumatic.”Some routine childhood vaccine rates drop in Alberta during COVID-19 pandemic
Ladha also noted accessing pediatric vaccines can be a challenge and she would like to see “efforts to meet families where they are.” Of kids aged one to four years old, 5.1 per cent have received a first dose. And only 1,047 infants between six and 11 months of age, or 4.1 per cent, have received a dose.Alberta pharmacies dealing with shortage of some children’s medicationPediatric doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shown to prevent severe disease and hospitalization – protections similar to adolescent and adult vaccines but with lower incidences of adverse reactions to the shots.
“Over the course of the pandemic, a lot of minimizing of the effects of COVID on children,” she said. “And so when parents hear that, they feel that COVID itself is not a big risk to their children, and so it’s not necessary to immunize.”