Health Canada has approved the first COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11 in Canada.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech submitted a request for approval of a child-sized dose of its mRNA vaccine for COVID-19 on October 18.
The companies say the results of their trials in children show comparable safety and efficacy results to those recorded in a previous Pfizer-BioNTech study in adults aged 16 to 25.
Health Canada said it would only approve the vaccine for children if its analysis showed the benefits outweigh the potential risks.
Pfizer-BioNTech has changed the formulation of the pediatric vaccine slightly, so new vaccines must be delivered to Canada before children can receive a shot.
Canada is expecting an accelerated delivery of 2.9 million child-sized doses, enough for a first dose for every child in the five to 11 age group.
In a prepared release, the Northwestern Health Unit says "their clinics will be ready when the vaccine arrives in the region from the Ontario Ministry of Health."
"Until delivery dates are known, parents and guardians of five to 11-year-olds should wait to book an appointment for their children. NWHU will advertise widely when clinics are available for this age group, which is expected within the next few weeks," the release continued.
With files from Canadian Press