E-Paper
Highest percentage of fresh Covid 19 infections among children in Canada
The positive aspect of the data revealed that kids rarely fell ill seriously and incidents of death among them were even rarer
Children under the age of 12 now account for the highest percentage of daily Covid-19 cases in Canada as the group remains unvaccinated against the infection since no vaccine has been approved for them yet.
Canada’s chief public health officer Dr Theresa Tam said such children make for over 20% of fresh cases reported each day though they are just 12% of the country’s population at about 4.3 million.
This trend was also noted in new coronavirus modelling released by the Public Health Agency of Canada on Friday.
Tam said this phenomenon was “not unexpected” given high vaccination levels in other age groups. About 59 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been delivered already, covering 88% of those eligible, and about 78% of the total population.
The positive aspect of the data revealed that kids rarely fell ill seriously and incidents of death among them were even rarer.Health Canada is currently reviewing a Pfizer vaccine for children under 12, and Tam said it was “working extremely hard to prioritise” the process and an announcement [on its approval for emergency use] could be expected within weeks.
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That paediatric vaccine for the age group 5 to 11, if approved, will be delivered in smaller doses than those for the rest of the population.
The new data was provided as the fourth wave of the pandemic wanes in Canada. The seven-day average for daily infections is at 2,231, which is 5% cent lower than the preceding corresponding period. So far, there have been 1,725,570 Covid-19 cases and 29,095 related deaths in the country, as per latest WHO (World Health Organization) data.
Tam said the latest figures suggest “the fourth wave could continue to decline in the coming weeks if transmission does not increase.”
