Not like 'someone asking for Ivermectin': Doc who gave COVID jab to kids under 5 says parents knew what they were asking for

A Toronto physician who administered the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to more than 500 children under the age of five said he “put [his] neck on the line” to protect children and to help their worried—but well-informed—parents. “This wasn’t like someone asking for Ivermectin and not knowing what COVID was or how vaccines work,” Dr. Christopher Sun told a Toronto Star reporter. “These are people who actually read the studies and knew what they were asking for.” Health Canada has not approved any COVID vaccines for children under five years of age. In April, Moderna submitted a 25-microgram, two-dose series for Health Canada review. Pfizer has not, to date, sent in its under-five vaccine for approval. Dr. Sun vaccinated kids under five over a three-month period that lasted until the end of March 2022, when Toronto Public Health told him to stop. The agency also reported him to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, which interviewed Dr. Sun but did not advance the complaint. Read: Study finds kids were at low risk of severe COVID early in the pandemic, before Delta Most of the parents who asked him to give their kids the jab had reviewed the COVID drug trial data from Pfizer, said Dr. Sun. He also explained to these parents that the vaccine had not yet been approved for this younger group by Health Canada and that there were still unknowns about its use in young kids. In particular, he highlighted data from Pfizer that showed the vaccine caused “quite a good immune response in kids who were six months to two years old in terms of antibody levels.” Dr. Sun said he also made sure to ask parents for verbal informed consent. “These are worried parents in a time of health crisis and I think it’s wrong to turn away people who know what they are getting into,” he said. Doctors are allowed to prescribe medications off-label, “which we do all the time,” Dr. Sun added. Read: Health Canada approves first COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5 to 11 The requests for COVID shots for kids under five started coming in last December, when Omicron became a threat. Many of the parents who had approached him were physicians. Dr. Samantha Green was among those who decided to get her children vaccinated by Dr. Sun. Her two kids were three-and-a-half years and 18 months old at the time—and both in daycare—when they got their COVID shot. “With Omicron rising, I grew more and more nervous,” said Dr. Green, a family physician in Toronto. “I started to really worry for their health and wellbeing.” She had heard that a doctor in the city was vaccinating kids under five and, after reviewing Pfizer’s initial drug trial data, she decided the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks. “We felt it was the best choice for us,” she said. “I absolutely don’t have any regrets at all.” Read: I’m an infectious disease doctor and I’m vaccinating our 5-year-old against COVID-19

Not like 'someone asking for Ivermectin': Doc who gave COVID jab to kids under 5 says parents knew what they were asking for

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics