Children turning five this year not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccine: OPH
Ottawa parents who have booked their four-year-old for a COVID-19 vaccine or their 17-year-old for a booster dose are being asked not to show up for scheduled appointments.
Some parents of children turning five this year were able to book appointments for them through the provincial booking system before their birthdays. And parents of 17-year-olds who turn 18 this year were also able to book booster doses for them.
However, Ottawa Public Health now says those children remain ineligible for shots, and the appointments were able to be booked due to an issue with the provincial system.
“We are currently unable to vaccinate children under 5-years or provide booster doses for those under 18-years,” the health unit tweeted on Tuesday.
“As of Jan. 3, 2022,we have received provincial direction that health units NOT vaccinate residents under 5-years of age or provide boosters to those under 18-years of age.”
The health unit says it’s working with the province to find a solution for people who have already booked appointments, and will follow up with those who were already vaccinated prior to this provincial direction coming down.
“The province has informed us they intend to have this issue with the provincial vaccine booking system resolved by Jan. 7,” OPH said.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches said the reason children turning five in 2021 were eligible when the vaccine was first made available to them was because it was near the end of the year so their fifth birthdays were not far away. She also said that OPH will be reaching out to families of four-year-olds who got a vaccine to inform them of the best course of action when it comes to receiving the second dose.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police to announce arrests in Toronto Pearson airport gold heist
Police say that arrests have been made in connection with a $20-million gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport one year ago.
LIVE @ 4 EDT Freeland to present 2024 federal budget, promising billions in new spending
Canadians will learn Tuesday the entirety of the federal Liberal government's new spending plans, and how they intend to pay for them, when Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tables the 2024 federal budget.
Proposed class-action lawsuit against Shoppers Drug Mart alleges 'unsafe and unethical corporate practices'
Shoppers Drug Mart is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit by current and former franchise owners at the retail chain who allege parent company Loblaw engaged in corporate practices that placed them in an “irredeemable conflict of interest” and put patient care at risk.
Lululemon unveils first summer kit for Canada's Olympic and Paralympic teams
Lululemon says it is combining function and fashion in its first-ever summer kit for Canada's Olympians and Paralympians.
Outdated cancer screening guidelines jeopardizing early detection, doctors say
A group of doctors say Canadian cancer screening guidelines set by a national task force are out-of-date and putting people at risk because their cancers aren't detected early enough.
Canada's health-care crisis was 'decades in the making,' says CMA
The strain placed on Canadian health care during the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating, and the top official of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is warning that improving the system will be a 'slow process' requiring sustained investment.
'I just started crying': Blue Jays player signs jersey for man in hospital
An Ontario woman says she never expected to be gifted a Blue Jays jersey for her ailing husband when she sat alone at the team’s home opener next to a couple of kind strangers.
Mussolini's wartime bunker opens to the public in Rome
After its last closure in 2021, it has now reopened for guided tours of the air raid shelter and the bunker. The complex now includes a multimedia exhibition about Rome during World War II, air raid systems for civilians, and the series of 51 Allied bombings that pummeled the city between July 1943 and May 1944.
B.C. woman facing steep medical bills, uncertain future after Thailand crash
The family of a Victoria, B.C., woman who was seriously injured in an accident in Thailand is pleading for help as medical bills pile up.