Ford must announce plan for vaccine rollout for kids 5 to 11 ahead of approval: NDP

QUEEN'S PARK — Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on Doug Ford to come up with, and publicly announce, a plan to roll out vaccination for kids aged 5 to 11 in advance of Health Canada's approval, so that resources are in place to get children vaccinated as quickly and smoothly as possible as soon as Health Canada deems it safe.

"Parents are sending their unvaccinated little ones off to school each morning afraid they'll catch the virus," Horwath said.

"Families, kids, teachers and education workers are worried their lives will once again be upended by disruptive school closures. We're seeing provinces like British Columbia taking a proactive approach to this same issue, opening pre-registration for kids ages 5 to 11 to get vaccinated, but the Ford government continues to leave schools and families hanging.

"This government has had a stubborn wait-for-crisis approach throughout this pandemic. This time let’s get out ahead and be ready. Ford must get a plan in place for the rollout of vaccines for the 5 to 11 age group now, so that the moment Health Canada approves the vaccine for children in this age range, public health agencies have in-school vaccine clinics ready to launch and vaccinate all eligible kids within a matter of days."

Health Canada is expected to approve the COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 imminently.