Ontario’s top doctor is stressing the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for children aged five to 11 after comments he made during a news conference drew criticism from the province’s opposition politicians.
Dr. Kieran Moore made the clarifying statement after he said vaccines were too new to require that children take them to attend school.
Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca called on Moore to clarify or resign from his position, while NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said she was also concerned by the comment.
Both parties have called for the province to add COVID-19 vaccination to the list of immunizations children require to attend school.
During Wednesday’s news conference, Moore was asked why the province hadn’t done so and he responded the province wants “greater experience” with the “new vaccine.”
Later in the day, an email was sent clarifying his stance on the vaccine.
“I want to be clear that the pediatric Pfizer vaccine for children five to 11 is safe, effective, and provides strong protection against COVID-19 and variants,” Moore’s statement said. “To date, millions of children aged five to 11 have received the pediatric Pfizer vaccine and are benefitting from the strong protection provided, and the overwhelming majority of side-effects have been mild. I strongly encourage all children five to 11 to get the vaccine as soon as possible.”