More COVID vaccines available for Saskatchewan kids starting Monday

Starting Monday, some new COVID-19 vaccination options for children will be available in Saskatchewan.

The Pfizer bivalent vaccine will become available as a first or second booster for children aged five to 11, the Ministry of Health said, as long as four months have passed since their primary series or original booster.

The Novavax Nuvaxovid vaccine will also be available on Monday as both a primary series and booster dose for children aged 12 to 17, the ministry added. That protein-based vaccine has been available to adults since April, the ministry said.

However, the ministry noted that mRNA vaccines like those from Pfizer and Moderna “continue to be the recommended vaccines for all residents.”

There’s a limited supply of both vaccines, the ministry said, so they will only be offered through certain clinics and not through pharmacies. Those clinics are hosted by the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority and Indigenous Services Canada.

“Being up to date on your vaccines matters,” the ministry said in a statement. “Having a COVID-19 booster in the last six months reduces the risk of a COVID-19 death eight times compared to unvaccinated individuals, and more than four times compared to those without a recent booster dose.”