Parents of immunocompromised Sask. kids relieved about COVID vaccine

It was a big sigh of relief for parents when Health Canada approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to five years old.

And now any parent in this province can book those appointments through the Saskatchewan Health Authority. A list of the clinics where and when those vaccinations are available can be found here.

But for parents with immunocompromised kids, it has been a stressful few years of making sure the children were healthy without the protection of a vaccine.

Shaun Heisler has two kids in the age range who now are eligible to get their shots. His three-year-old son Eli has Down syndrome and is immunocompromised.

“We didn’t know what the effects that COVID had on kids who were immunocompromised. So we definitely were concerned with Eli given that he had been in the hospital a couple of times with respiratory issues,” Heisler said.

Earlier in the year, the entire family contracted COVID, but luckily only developed minor symptoms.

Throughout the pandemic, Heisler says they’ve been cautious with keeping the kids safe but a lot is out of their control.

“We were definitely trying to be as careful as possible with daycare as both kids went to a larger centre. You know, as much as we try to be as cautious as possible when we went out, we kind of realized the risk of, ‘We can’t be responsible for other people and what they do,’ ” Heisler said, noting they masked and tried to keep things clean and sanitized.

Being that both his kids are now eligible to get inoculated, it provides the family with a sense of relief.

“It helps us kind of open the door for us as to what we’re able to do as a family as well being able to plan trips or anything like that,” he said.

He noted that took more of a backseat the past couple of years, but they will explore vacation options in the fall.

Heisler says his daughter — who just turned five — is starting school in the fall and he and his wife were waiting until both kids were eligible for vaccines to get them all done at once. As a result, they’ll be booking appointments soon.

Vaccines can be booked online or by phone (1-833-727-5829) for anyone six months and older. Shots also are available at walk-in clinics.

Randall Robins took her three-year-old daughter Khloe to a walk-in clinic in Regina on Friday and said she can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“I think we’ll just feel more comfortable trying to live a more normal life again,” Randall said. “Now that she’s going to be vaccinated, we can just relax a little bit.”

Megan Robins-Stewart had her two-year-old daughter Isabella at the clinic. Robins-Stewart also was relieved that her daughter had been inoculated.

“I do run a daycare as well, so we have to be super-diligent with being safe with COVID and everything,” Robins-Stewart said. “Knowing that she has at least one level of protection is a lot nicer than none.”

— With files from The Canadian Press