Kids’ vaccine rollout needs clarity

Last week Canada became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12-15. In response to this news, I made the case that the Ontario government should enable kids to preregister for their vaccines, ASAP, in a centralized system so that their parents can avoid the scavenger hunt-like experience that has defined the rollout so far.

Let’s get all minors signed up, I argued, well in advance of their eligibility so that when the time comes they’re in the system, ready to go.

It would appear that Toronto city Coun. Josh Matlow agrees.

On Thursday, Matlow is publishing an open letter addressed to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott, urging the provincial government to give “parents and guardians in Ontario an opportunity to preregister their children for the vaccine.”

Preregistration for kids, he argues, “will reduce stress amongst families, provide them with much needed surety and predictability, and help promote greater equity for vaccine obtainment amongst children.

“Moreover, your government should use this pre-registration list to develop a proactive rollout plan for local public health units and school boards by utilizing all existing resources available such as school vaccine programs, family doctors, and other viable options.

“In addition, this pre-registration list could be used as a standby list in the event that local pop-up clinics experience lull periods. Through the development of a cohesive and streamlined rollout, including a pre-registration option, Ontario will have a better shot at ensuring our children are vaccinated.”

In other words, let’s put in the work now to preregister youth so that the kids’ rollout isn’t a total gong show like the adult rollout.

Of course, some Ontarians have had an easy time signing up for the vaccine and that’s wonderful for them. But a great many didn’t.

The fact that the city of Toronto felt the need to formally partner with Vaccine Hunters Canada, a group of tech-savvy volunteers (volunteers who should win every award this nation has to offer, by the way) is proof the sign-up process is wanting.

As a friend recently put it, weary from scouring pharmacy websites all morning to no avail, “I’m just so tired of chasing the vaccine.”

Add to that chase, kids, a full-time job and no paid leave to get immunized, and the target appears even further out of reach.

It’s great news that Waterloo’s regional health authority is now preregistering people as young as 12 years old for vaccines, but one public health unit does not a whole province make.

When it comes to an Ontariowide plan, at a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Elliott said her government is “actively working on the (youth) vaccine plan with the Ministry of Education. We want to make sure our young people can receive the doses as soon as possible. We will have further information on that when the details are finalized.”

When I asked the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education last week what their plans were for youth vaccination they said more or less the same thing. There is a plan. It’s in the works. Please stand by.

But it would be nice if we didn’t have to stand by in the dark.

It would be nice if, while we waited for that plan to be unveiled, we could put our kids’ information into a centralized system to prevent a messy, fragmented approach in the weeks and months ahead.

A streamlined system wouldn’t just reduce parent stress, it would, arguably, ensure kids are vaccinated in a timely fashion — a crucial factor in their safe return to school.

This is especially important, says Matlow, in a city like Toronto that is heavily impacted by COVID-19 and is home to thousands of essential workers, many of whom work multiple jobs.

“Given that Toronto‘s portal leads to the provincial site,” he says, “and that residents will often cross municipal and regional boundaries to find opportunities to be vaccinated, it would be most helpful to have the province provide a ‘one-stop shop’ option for Ontarians.”

We’ve heard a lot this week about a “one dose” summer: the prime minister’s suggestion that Canadians immunized with their first dose will be able to safely gather for BBQs.

This is an extremely exciting prospect, but wouldn’t it be even more exciting if our one dose summer was accompanied by a one-stop shop for youth vaccines?

Maybe I’m getting greedy. But come on: if we know the fragmented rollout approach caused stress and confusion in an already stressful and confusing era, can we not learn from that knowledge and adjust?

Preregister the kids now and finalize the details later.

The vaccine supply is pouring in at last. Hopefully a bit of common sense sneaks in there with it.