Edmonton's public school board wants province to expand COVID-19 child vaccination options

Edmonton's public school board is pushing the provincial government to make COVID-19 vaccinations more accessible to children.

Concerned by the low number of kids aged five to 11 who have received even a single dose of the pediatric vaccine, the board voted unanimously on Tuesday to advocate for the province to expand the number of clinics, including in schools.

"While the current system of access is working for some, it is not working for all," said board vice-chair Nathan Ip, who proposed the idea.

The board will write to the premier, health and education ministers asking them to introduce mobile vaccination clinics for children, school-based clinics in areas where coverage rates are low, add more locations where kids can get shots, and make them widely available in pharmacies.

As of Tuesday, 41.5 per cent of Alberta children aged five to 11 had received a first dose of the vaccine, and 5.5 per cent had received a second dose.

Right now, shots for younger kids are mainly available at 120 mass-vaccination sites run by Alberta Health Services.

Trustees said some of the locations are far-flung and inaccessible by transit. Parents may not have time off work to take children to appointments, they said.

More immune adults and children in schools could help reduce the number of sick staff and help keep schools running more smoothly, Ip said.

In an email, Steve Buick, press secretary to Health Minister Jason Copping, said increasing vaccine coverage is a "top priority" for the minister.

Most clinics are open evenings and weekends, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and they plan to extend the hours on Jan. 21 when many children become eligible for a second dose, he said.

Buick said public polling found about 30 to 40 per cent of parents intended to vaccinate their elementary school-aged children.

"We recognize that this is a choice for parents that's about more than just getting to a clinic," he said.

He said the government is encouraging more parents to choose vaccination and seeking advice from a vaccine hesitancy advisory committee and other experts.

Edmonton Public Schools superintendent Darrel Robertson also said Tuesday the division hired 29 substitute teachers on full-time contracts for the month of January to help fill some of the expected staff shortages prompted by the Omicron variant.