Younger children in Manitoba are eligible for Moderna’s recently approved COVID vaccine, but due to limited supply, priority groups such as Indigenous children and children with lung disease will be the first to receive the vaccine.
Dr. Brent Rusin, Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer, announced Wednesday that immunocompromised children six months to four years old will soon be able to receive their first COVID-19 vaccines here; enrollment for high-risk children will begin Monday at 8 a.m
Rusin said eligibility will be expanded to all children in that age group once Manitoba receives more supplies of the vaccine. The initial shipment is about 14,000 doses. He could not say when more doses would arrive.
Pediatricians or public health nurses will administer the vaccines in doctor’s offices or clinics, Rusin said.
He said the vaccine is safe and there are no concerns about doctors’ ability to administer it correctly.
As for adults, Rusin says Manitoba has no immediate plan to expand eligibility for second booster shots to everyone over 18.
Ontario, Quebec and Alberta opened second boosters for all adults.
In Manitoba, access is limited to Indigenous people aged 30 or over, other people aged 50 and over, as well as people in personal care and assisted living homes and some immunocompromised people.
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Rusin said the goal is not to use the vaccine to stop COVID-19 infections, but to prevent severe outcomes, and said the current booster law does that.
“What we find is that those in the lower risk categories who received three doses have good protection against severe outcomes. Those who are at higher risk are eligible for a fourth dose, and many people — about half of the people — who are eligible for that third dose have not yet received us,” Rusin said. “So the real problem is getting people that first booster.”
For many Manitobans, it’s been more than six or seven months since they got their third dose. Rusin stressed that people who are not at high risk should still have good protection from the third dose.
He explained that the province is not currently considering opening fourth doses to front-line health workers or others in high-risk jobs. The rise of the more infectious Omicron BA.5 subvariant means the current vaccine may not be as effective at preventing infections in people who are not at high risk, Rusin said.
“The evidence does not show a huge improvement with this second booster in those who are not at increased risk,” Rusin said. “Again, because BA.5 is circulating, we’re not sure of the effectiveness of this vaccine specifically for that.”
katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com
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