Good news for all parents and caregivers!

Health Canada has completed a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence and have deemed the Moderna vaccine safe and effective at preventing #COVID19 in children 6 months through 5 years of age (1).

Rollout is expected soon, but the details will depend on your province/territory. So check with local providers for how to book appointments!

EFFECTIVENESS: This vaccine is about 50% effective at stopping kids 6 to 23 month old getting COVID, and is a bit less effective – about 37% – for kids 2-5 years old (2). This might seem low, but new variants are now better at evading our immune response and our priority now is to prevent severe disease and hospitalizations (3,4,5). The immune response shown in children was similar to that of adults that received higher doses of the vaccine suggesting that it will protect our kids well against severe disease (2).

SAFETY: In authorizing the Moderna vaccine, Health Canada is saying that the vaccine is safe to use (6). The COVID-19 vaccine will be teaching your little ones’ immune system to fight SARS-CoV-2, it’s normal to have some mild side effects. The most frequently reported side effects found during the trial were: irritability/crying, pain,sleepiness and loss of appetite. But don’t worry, most side-effects go away within a few days (2,7).

Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada will continue to closely monitor the safety of this vaccine and will take action if any safety concerns are identified.

NACI is expected to give recommendations for kids #Under5 later today. You can count on us to update you when we have more information – stay tuned!

Learn more about the authorization

Sources: https://tinyurl.com/SUFJustInUnder5