Experts worry about low COVID-19 vaccination rates in kids as restrictions lift across Canada

As public health restrictions to combat COVID-19 infections are lifted across Canada, the officials repealing them say they're concerned about lagging uptake of the vaccine by children under age 12. 

It's concerning enough that B.C.'s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, told CBC News it was the subject of "a long conversation about that with colleagues across the country as well as some international experts." 

The rolling repeals of mask mandates, capacity limits and phasing out of proof of vaccination come as the most recent data from the Public Health Agency of Canada shows the percentage of five- to 11-year-olds to receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine sits below 50 per cent in Alberta, with four provinces reporting figures less than 60 per cent. 

The Canadian average for kids ages five to 11 who have received at least one does is 56.5 per cent.

By comparison, the percentage of teens and adults to get at least one shot reaches into the high 80s and 90s across the country.

Dr. Laura Sauvé, a B.C. pediatric infectious disease specialist who also speaks for the Canadian Pediatric Society, says the data is concerning.

"We are not seeing as many five- to 11-year-olds vaccinated as I would like as a pediatrician," Sauvé said.

Digging deeper into the numbers reveals that in some provinces, anywhere from a third to more than half of children in that age range remain unvaccinated against COVID-19.

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"Even though we have excellent evidence that the vaccine is safe and effective, I know that families are reading scary things," Sauvé said, referring to early anecdotal and now disproven claims about safety and efficacy of giving the vaccine to children. 

But Sauvé acknowledges the full explanation for the disparity in vaccination rates is more complex. 

Alison Bentley's nine-year-old son, Quinn, is in the 45 per cent of children ages five to 11 in B.C. who've not had a shot.

Bentley says she had concerns after her 14-year-old daughter was vaccinated and experienced what she calls "menstrual upset."

The results of a U.S. study published in January examined nearly 4,000 women and found a small change in menstrual cycle length — on average one day — but concluded no effect on menses length. But Bentley says she couldn't get a satisfying answer from the health-care providers she spoke with.