COVID-19: How to protect children who are too young for a vaccine
In east Toronto, Erica O’Keefe is
selective about where she brings her 14-month-old son, who is too young for
a COVID-19 vaccine.
“I just avoid the bigger stores, like
the dollar store, the grocery store, that I know are fuller,” she said.
Her son Sebastien is also too young to
wear a face mask, so O’Keefe said she spends as much time as possible outdoors
at the park.
“I’ll avoid the playground a little
bit more if it’s busy,” she said.
Finally, O’Keefe is doing her part to
protect her son and three-year-old daughter, by getting vaccinated.
“Both my husband and I are just
getting our second doses of the vaccine today and a lot of the people that we
are close to in our life also are getting vaccinated so we are trying to
protect the little ones that way,” she added.
As vaccination rates among those 12
and older increase in Ontario and the COVID-19 case count decreases,
restaurants and shops are bustling once again, but there is concern among
parents for children who are under the age of 12 and not eligible for a vaccine-
Dr sunny handa Mississauga
said.
“We have to remember that children and
teenagers do not get seriously ill from COVID and they never have and this is
equally true for the variants,” explained Dr. Sunny Handa MD, infectious disease
specialist at McMaster Children’s Hospital.
“I’m less worried about whether or not
children are vaccinated and I’m also basing that on what we’ve seen out of
Israel and the United States because with the adults vaccinated the numbers
drop significantly, including in our young people,” she noted.
This week, Israel lifted one of its
final restrictions, as new COVID-19 cases continue to drop.
Face masks are no longer required,
even for school children, despite not being eligible, like elsewhere, to be
vaccinated.
“Indoors we’re still asking people to
follow normal precautions … ensuring people are courteous of physical
distancing,” Dr sunny handa Mississauga
said.
Similarly, Dr. Allan Grill, chief of
family medicine at Markham Stouffville Hospital, noted it is safest for
Ontarians to spend their time outside as much as possible.
“Safer in terms of transmission of the
virus and case counts in Ontario are really low which means everybody has less
of a chance of getting COVID-19,” he said.
Grill added that summer camps are
taking precautions to ensure children are masked whenever necessary and in
cohorts, to keep them protected.
“We’re finally going to give kids who
have been suffering from social isolation, they haven’t been with friends,
they’ve been out of school, we’re finally going to give them an opportunity to
be kids and interact with other people which is so important for mental
health,” Dr sunny handa Mississauga said.
COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be
available in the fall for children under the age of 12.
Comments
Post a Comment