The province is set to take divergent approaches for COVID-19 booster doses for adolescents, depending on health factors facing those between the ages of 12 and 17.
Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday that third doses for young people considered clinically extremely vulnerable will be part of their primary series of vaccinations.
The vast majority of British Columbians received two doses as part of their primary series, while the province is currently in the midst of a booster campaign that is providing a third dose to most residents.
Those between the ages of 12 and 17 considered clinically extremely vulnerable will be offered a fourth dose as their booster six months after completing their primary series of vaccinations.
High-risk youths may have, for example, diabetes and “a number of other conditions that increase the risk of having more severe illness,” according to Henry.
This strategy is based on recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).
For those in the same age group who do not face such conditions, the province will be sending out invites for boosters six months after they complete their two-dose primary series of vaccinations.
Henry said invites will be sent out with “information on the benefits and risks of boosters at your six-month interval and you will have the ability to make that decision and book yourself.
“And we do, of course, continue to strongly recommend that anybody who has an underlying condition that puts them at risk does get the booster dose.”
B.C. children five to 11 began getting vaccinated in late November, meaning any plans for boosters for that age group won’t begin until later in 2022.
Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc. (TSX:PFE) is expected to submit an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make its COVID-19 vaccines available to children between the ages of six months and five years old, according to multiple U.S. media reports citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
The goal would be to make these vaccines available by the end of February.
An application to Health Canada would presumably follow the submission to American regulators.
Henry said she is still waiting to review additional information from Pfizer.
“It is important we have a vaccine to protect, especially, the highest-risk children in that age group,” she said, adding “I don’t think it will happen in the short-term” in reference to when a rollout would begin in B.C.
