Friday December 17, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. | Island Social Trends
Vaccination of children ages 5 to 11 in BC has been making strong strides since shots were first administered starting December 4.
As of December 15, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix, 22 percent of kids age 5 to 11 have been vaccinated, with 37 percent having booked appointments, and 42 percent being registered in the system by their parents or caregivers.
Today he confirmed that there are 349,000 children age 5 to 11 years of age who are eligible for COVID vaccination.
“We need to get those numbers up,” he told media on Wednesday. Dr Henry repeated her message encouraging everyone age 5+ to get vaccinated.
Today Friday December 17 those numbers are up even further: 24 percent (84,734) of kids age 5 to 11 have been vaccinated. Now 130,000 (about 37%) have booked appointments, and 152,000 (about 43.5%) have been registered overall.
Illness in younger people:
Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry frequently says that illness in ‘younger people’ is milder in most cases.
Omicron rising:
The Omicron variant of concern now shows rapid spread of the virus. Vaccination is one assurance of a better chance of a milder experience from infection, Dr Henry said today.
