Why should children and youth get the vaccine?

Right now, individuals age 6 months and up are eligible for the vaccine. Doctors, including pediatricians, recommend that everyone, including those age 6 months and older, should get vaccinated as soon as they are able to.

COVID-19 has changed. It poses a serious health threat to younger people too, including children and youth. The new variants circulating in Manitoba are more transmissible among younger people than we saw earlier in the pandemic, which means more young people are at risk for severe outcomes like hospitalization and ICU admission. A few children have died, and others are having long-term health issues even after they recover from the infection.

There are several reasons why children and youth should get the vaccine, even if you don’t feel they are risk from COVID-19:

1. Protect themselves: It’s not worth taking a chance with COVID when there’s a safe and effective way to prevent it. 
2. Help protecting those around your children. Even if your child doesn’t develop severe illness or outcomes, they could spread the virus to others. The sooner more Manitobans are fully immunized, the sooner everyone is better protected and able to get back to a more normal way of life.