Ottawa prepares to start vaccinating kids against COVID-19 this week
As Ottawa Public Health prepares to begin vaccinating 77,000 Ottawa children against COVID-19 on Friday, family physicians are waiting to find out when they will receive doses.
The first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children arrived in Canada on Sunday; two days after Health Canada approved the modified version of the vaccine for children between the ages of five to 11.
"We'll definitely be on the computer Tuesday morning trying to get a shot as early as we can," said parent Alicia Robblee, who will be booking an appointment for seven-year-old Reid.
Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches told CTV News Ottawa on Saturday that parents would be able to begin booking COVID-19 vaccination appointments for children on Tuesday, with the first doses administered at community clinics on Friday.
The city will operate seven mass vaccination clinics, ten neighbourhood vaccination hubs and 73 school-based after-school pop-up clinics to administer the vaccine to children.
Meantime, family physicians in Ottawa are pushing for information on when they will receive the COVID-19 vaccine doses to help protect children against the virus.
"Sent an email to Ottawa Health to ask that we receive COVID-19 vaccine in office by Friday, also, so that our patients (kids who preregistered) can come to us," said Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth on Twitter. "Takes pressure off the system Tuesday (when others log into the ON portal)."
Dr. Kaplan-Myrth tells CTV News Ottawa that she's already started scheduling appointments for her young patients, but has no details on when the doses will arrive.
"Yet again we're forgotten, yet again we're begging to please have the vaccine," said Kaplan-Myrth.
"These are kids who have come to us for every single other vaccine since the day that they started getting vaccines when they were two months old."
Kaplan-Myrth is hopeful family physicians will receive vaccines this week.
"Please make sure that it comes to my office midweek so that I can also be immunizing my patients," said Kaplan-Myrth. "That takes pressure off of public health and off of the other systems in place."
Dr. Etches has said the COVID-19 vaccine for children will be available at some Ottawa pharmacies and doctors' offices.
Ottawa Public Health says a parent or guardian must be present for a child aged five to 11 to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and consent will be required.
Ottawa parents and guardians will be able to book a COVID-19 vaccination appointment for children through the Ontario government's website when the booking system opens.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

PM Trudeau apologizes for Parliament's recognition of Nazi veteran during Zelenskyy visit
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered 'unreserved apologies' Wednesday for Parliament's recognition of a man who fought for a Nazi unit during the Second World War and said the Canadian government has reached out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the wake of the incident.
Feds, Quebec set to make major EV battery production announcement Thursday
The governments of Quebec and Canada are set to make a major announcement about the electric vehicle manufacturing supply chain, and rumours have been swirling for weeks a Swedish battery developer and manufacturer could be setting up shop in McMasterville, which is about 30km from Montreal.
IED believed to be on vehicle in Barrie, Ont. parking lot explodes, sparking evacuations and road closures
Police have locked down and evacuated a section of Barrie, Ont., Wednesday morning in the city's west end amid unconfirmed reports of an explosion.
Judge Chutkan denies Trump's request to recuse herself in federal election subversion case
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan said Wednesday she won't recuse herself from Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case in Washington, rejecting the former president's claims that her past comments raise doubts about whether she can be fair.
Researchers say action could have prevented thousands of premature cancer deaths in women in 2020
Prevention could have prevented nearly seven in 10 premature cancer deaths among women worldwide in 2020, new research has found.
Hyundai, Kia recall over 600,000 cars in Canada, drivers told to park away from buildings due to fire risk
Hyundai and Kia have issued a recall for several vehicle models and are urging drivers to park away from buildings due to the risk that the issue could start a fire.
Over 50 arrested after mobs ransacked Philadelphia stores. Dozens of liquor outlets are shut down
Dozens of people faced criminal charges Wednesday after a night of social media-fueled mayhem in which groups of thieves, apparently working together, smashed their way into stores in several areas of Philadelphia, stuffing plastic bags with merchandise and fleeing, authorities said.
'ET Canada' cancelled by Corus Entertainment, blames 'challenging' advertising market
The studio lights are going dark at 'ET Canada.' Corus Entertainment says it has decided to cease production on the long-running Canadian arts and entertainment news magazine after 18 seasons.
Police agencies deny jurisdictional fight delayed Hardeep Nijjar murder investigation
Law enforcement agencies have denied allegations that a dispute over jurisdiction delayed the investigation into the murder of Surrey, B.C., Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.