Health Canada is expected to approve COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 5-11 by November, according to Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.
During a Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency Emergency Operations Centre conference call with reporters on Wednesday, October 13, Shahab said up to one-third of new COVID-19 cases in the province are children under 12, who are currently not eligible for vaccination.
“The vast majority of these cases happen in unvaccinated households, where for some inexplicable reason, the parents are remaining unvaccinated,” said Shahab. “The most important thing we can do to prevent cases of COVID-19 in schools is to have high vaccination rates of parents, students and staff, immediately.”
Shahab said the vast majority of cases detected in schools are due to households where someone is COVID-19 positive.
“Occasionally there is transmission to one or two people who go to the same school, but as we have seen throughout the pandemic, most transmission to children is due to contact outside the schools.
“They are linked to unvaccinated households.”
Shahab said children aged 5-11 that are in close contact with someone in their household who is COVID-19 positive must stay home from school for 14 days as outlined in the province’s public health order posted on the SHA website dated September 30, 2021.
Schools, he said, are in a difficult position.
“We all want in-person learning to continue, but in this fourth wave, with so many children that can’t be vaccinated, it’s up to the parents to get vaccinated and protect the kids,” he said. “We should all be ready to vaccinate our children ages five to 11, November onward because we are looking forward to Health Canada approving and providing vaccines.”