Last Friday, health officials in the province, including Waterloo Region, began administering COVID-19 vaccines to children between the ages of five and 11.
According to Waterloo Public Health, 10 per cent of children, or 4,800 children, in the region have now received their first dose of the vaccine.
The addition of this age group means that 77.97 per cent of residents in the area now have at least one dose of the vaccine and about 74.99 per cent of Waterloo Region’s population is now fully vaccinated.
Earlier this week, Waterloo Region announced it has partnered with local school boards in developing COVID-19 vaccination clinics in schools for children between five and 11.
The clinics will run schools in the Waterloo Region District School Board and the Waterloo Catholic District School Board. The purpose of the clinics is to hopefully make vaccinations easier for parents and children as they will occur in a more comfortable setting.
The schools hosting after-school vaccinations clinics are:
- St. Peter Catholic Elementary School in Cambridge (Dec. 2)
- Wilson Avenue Public School in Kitchener (Dec. 9 and Dec. 14)
- Sunnyside Public School in Kitchener (Dec. 15 and Dec. 16)
The schools hosting full day vaccination clinics are:
- Queensmount Public School in Kitchener (Dec. 4)
- St. Bernadette Catholic School in Kitchener (Dec. 19 and Dec. 20)
- St. Anne Catholic School in Cambridge (Dec. 21 and Dec. 22)
- Linwood Public School in Linwood (Dec. 23)
As of Dec. 1, Waterloo health officials have confirmed 20,914 total cases of COVID-19, and approximately 231 cases are considered active. There have been 307 COVID-related deaths in the region.
Kaitlyn Severin
Student Journalist of the Year - JHM award winner, Kaitlyn has worked previously as The Cord’s senior news editor. She’s also published articles for VICE and Shameless.