Alberta teens eligible for bivalent boosters starting Monday, experts want parents to know
CBC
Some experts are worried Alberta parents aren't getting the message that, for the first time, teenagers will be eligible for COVID-19 bivalent boosters next week.
Last week, the provincial government announced that Pfizer's bivalent shot would be available to everyone 12 and up starting on Monday.
Health Canada authorized this vaccine, which targets the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, earlier this month.
Moderna's bivalent booster, targeting the original and Omicron BA.1 variants, was already available to Albertans 18 and up, making this the first time 12- to 17-year-olds will have access to a vaccine formulated to fight the predominant strains.
The late Wednesday press release came without much fanfare.
Much like the announcement of Moderna's bivalent vaccine in September, no press conference was held and there was no mention on key government twitter feeds, including those of Health Minister Jason Copping, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Alberta Health.
"I was unaware of [this]. And I am … a parent of a child that falls in this age range … as well as being a researcher in this field," said Shannon MacDonald, an associate professor at the University of Alberta.
She leads a team studying immunization policy and practice through the faculty of nursing and school of public health.
"Part of me is embarrassed that I didn't even know about this and part of me is thinking, "OK, if somebody like me who is really attuned to this topic missed this, I wonder … does the average parent have any idea this is going on?'"
MacDonald was relieved to find out the bivalent is set to roll out on Monday.
"The fact is the pandemic isn't over. And we're heading into fall, which we know from previous years is a time when cases rose and hospitalizations increased," she said.
"I think it's really critical that we stay on top of getting our kids and ourselves boosted for COVID."
The number of Albertans hospitalized with the virus has been rising for weeks now. The latest provincial data show there are 1,017 in hospital, including 33 in intensive care.
"We do know that COVID is still in the community. Its numbers are creeping up. It is still circulating," said Craig Jenne, associate professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary.
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