Vaccination rate stalls for Windsor-Essex children ages five to 11

A child at the mass vacination clinic in Windsor, Ont. on Dec. 18, 2021. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)

Windsor, Ont. -

The local COVID-19 vaccination rate for children ages five to 11 is below the provincial average, according to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

Health unit CEO Nicole Dupuis says 33.7 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 11 have received one dose of the Pfizer paediatric vaccine. That’s below the provincial average of 44.1 per cent for the same age group.

WECHU says 76.5 per cent of individuals between the ages of 12 and 17 have received two doses of the vaccine.

Children 12 and older have been eligible in Ontario since last summer. The five to 11 age group became eligible in November.

Dupuis says the vaccination rates for the younger category has stalled a bit.

"With the five to elevens we saw the same with the 12 to 17s, where we saw a quick increase at the beginning and then vaccination tapering off a little bit," Dupuis says.

Dupuis says the health unit is reaching out to community partners and the school boards for help.

"We are continuing to have conversations with our school board colleagues and those who work with children and youth within our region to see what we could do to reach out to parents to provide more education," adds Dupuis.

Acting medical officer of health Dr. Shanker Nesathurai is continuing to encourage parents and children to get vaccinated. He says it will help students return to the classroom. Ontario schools are closed to in-person learning until at least Jan. 17.

"I remain optimistic that after this two week period, the schools will reopen for in person learning and we should continue to emphasize that as a goal at the health district level and across the province," he said.

There are 33,000 Windsor-Essex children between the ages of 5 and 11 who are eligible to be vaccinated against COVID.