**** HEALTH / WELLNESS Media Release
Moderna Infant COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Disruption
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Public Health advises parents of young children who have received Moderna’s infant COVID-19 vaccine and are due for their next dose before March 8 to book their next vaccination before a disruption in the national supply of that vaccine.
The Government of Canada, which is in charge of vaccine distribution across the country, has notified the Province that a disruption in supply of Moderna infant COVID-19 vaccine will start March 9 and last a few weeks.
“There’s still time to schedule an appointment before the anticipated disruption. However, if that is not possible, children should receive their next dose once the supply is available,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Chief Medical Officer of Health. “I want to reassure parents that delaying the second dose does not impact the vaccine’s effectiveness.”
For children aged six months to four years, Public Health advises:
— children who started their primary series with Moderna and are due for their next dose on or before March 8 should still receive the dose by that date
— the second Moderna dose may be delayed for children who are due to have it after March 8
— children who have not received any doses of COVID-19 vaccine can still start their primary series with Moderna before March 8, but their next dose may be delayed
— children who have already started their primary series with Moderna are not able to complete their primary series with the Pfizer vaccine at this time; Moderna is a two-dose primary series in this age group, while Pfizer is a three-dose primary series.
There is no impact on children who are receiving the Pfizer infant vaccine.
Appointments can be booked online at https://novascotia.ca/vaccination or by calling 1-833-797-7772. Vaccine scheduling by phone is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
More Moderna infant COVID-19 vaccine appointments will be added once shipments from the federal government arrive. The Province will notify Nova Scotians when that happens.
Quick Facts:
— there are about 34,000 children aged six months to four years in Nova Scotia
— children who have been infected with COVID-19 should wait eight weeks between infection and starting or completing their vaccine series
— children will be considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the last dose of their primary series
— people 12 years and older who have completed their primary series and received a booster on or after September 19, 2022, are not eligible for another dose at this time
— children aged five to 11 who have completed their primary series and have already received a booster dose do not need to receive another at this time
Additional Resources:
National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommendations on Moderna’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to five years: https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/naci-summary-july-14-2022.pdf
More information on who is considered immunocompromised: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/immunocompromised/
Vaccination resources for youth and families: https://www.iwk.nshealth.ca/COVID-19/vaccination-resources
