AMC Responds to COVID-19 Vaccine Approval for Children under 5

July 20, 2022

Treaty One Territory, Manitoba

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Treaty One Territory, Manitoba – The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) releases the following statement in response to Health Canada and Manitoba Health’s recent COVID-19 vaccine approval updates.

On July 14, 2022, Health Canada approved the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months to 5 years of age. This is the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in Canada for use in this age group. For children 6 months to 5 years old, it is recommended to wait 4 weeks after the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine before getting the second dose. On July 20, 2022, Manitoba Health announced new eligibility to include children aged 6 months to 5 years.

In today’s announcement, Manitoba Health shared that though there are approximately 76,700 children in Manitoba, there will only be about 14,900 doses in the first delivery. As a result, Manitoba is prioritizing the vaccine for children who:

  • have certain medical conditions, including chronic lung disease, airway abnormalities, congenital or chronic heart or circulatory diseases, moderately to severely immunocompromised due to a medical condition or treatment, neurologic disorders (including developmental delay), diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or any chronic disease related to premature birth; or
  • are First Nations, Inuit, or Métis, regardless of where they live.

Acting Grand Chief Cornell McLean, Lake Manitoba First Nation says, “Due to overcrowded housing, lack of clean water supply, inadequate supply of nutrition and the health care resource crisis for First Nations citizens, there is an over-representation of First Nations citizens contracting and having higher rates of morbidity and mortality from Covid-19. Expanding the COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to include children aged 6 months to 5 years old will help protect our most precious and vulnerable First Nations demographic.”

Vaccination is one of the ways we can protect our families, nations, and ourselves against COVID-19 by preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19. The AMC supports and encourages the vaccination of our children to protect and prevent the spread of Covid-19.

“We must remember the importance of doing our part to protect our families, nations, and those most vulnerable around us. We encourage families to speak to their local healthcare professional with any questions or concerns” concluded Acting Grand Chief Cornell McLean.

Parents and caregivers of eligible children can begin booking appointments on Monday, July 25 at 8 a.m., using the online vaccine finder or through the vaccine call centre at (toll-free) 1-844-626-8222 (1-844-MAN-VACC). Parents and caregivers who need to book two or more appointments for their children can use either option, but the phone line is recommended as the best way to access multiple appointments at the same time and as close together as possible. For more information visit https://bit.ly/3PE3RjB or https://protectmb.ca/

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