Administering COVID-19 vaccines in children between the ages of five and 11 has proven to be a tall task for New Brunswick pharmacists.
Statistics last updated on Tuesday show just 54.9 per cent of the age group has received their first dose, despite eligibility opening up in late November.
During a news conference on Jan. 21, chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell expressed concerns about the slow rate at which kids are getting vaccinated, especially given a return to in-person learning on Monday.
However, there seem to be several different reasons stopping parents from having their children vaccinated, according to the executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association.
“We know that there was some hesitancy early on from parents and caregivers who are just concerned and want to make sure these are safe vaccines for their children,” said Jake Reid.
According to Reid, that has played a part in New Brunswick being a couple of weeks behind projections.
In-school vaccination clinics have proved to be pretty successful, Reid said. However, the start of the rollout coming just weeks before the holiday season may have created barriers for some families.
“It just goes to show that there’s a certain convenience factor there when you can make it easily accessible for people,” Reid said.
