Alberta pharmacists will be allowed, by their regulator, to administer vaccines to children as young as two years old next year, sparking hopes this will boost slumping COVID-19 and flu shot rates.
Under the current rules, pharmacists can give shots to kids only if they’re five or older.
However, new standards through the Alberta College of Pharmacy will come into effect Feb. 1, allowing specially trained pharmacists to immunize children between the ages of two and five.
“We’ve had a lot of stories come back to us from pharmacists where families have come in to receive their seasonal immunizations and they’ve been able to have a portion of their family immunized but have had to go to another location to have their younger children immunized,” said Greg Eberhart, registrar with the college.
“It was a barrier. It takes time. It was an extra stop for mom and dad. And we just want to bridge the gap to make sure somebody’s not left out.”
During the last respiratory virus season, children under five could receive COVID-19 vaccines only at AHS public health clinics. Flu shots were available to them at AHS clinics and some family doctors’ offices
“The goal here is to improve accessibility in a safe way and to bolster the number of Albertans who are actually receiving immunizations,” said Eberhart.
Pharmacists in a number of other provinces are already allowed to provide flu and COVID-19 vaccines to children under the age of five, including Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Young children ‘high risk’
“It’s really positive to me as a pediatrician but also as a parent,” said Dr. Cora Constantinescu, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Children under five are at high risk of severity from both influenza and COVID, and other respiratory conditions.”
Constantinescu is worried about dropping vaccination rates.
Provincial data shows 22.7 per cent of children between the ages of one and four received the flu shot during the 2023-24 season and 6.8 per cent were vaccinated against COVID-19.
“When you look at vaccine hesitancy and vaccination behaviour, the two big hurdles appear to be convenience — or access — and opportunity,” she said.
“You have to be really motivated to get that vaccine … convenience makes such a difference when you have little kids,” she said.
In addition, many people know and trust their pharmacists, according to Constantinescu.
“They somehow help to normalize these seasonal vaccines because you see it when you walk into your grocery store or your small pharmacy. It just becomes your routine or habit.”
Calgary pharmacist Heba ElBayoumi said the rules restricting her from immunizing children under five aren’t popular with her customers.
“We heard lots of frustrations and actually barriers for parents to book their kids at a different location,” said ElBayoumi, owner of Heathers Pharmacy.
She welcomed the change, noting the limited hours at public health clinics add another layer of difficulty for busy parents.
“We’re the most accessible health-care professionals, I think, in Canada,” she said.
“You can walk into the pharmacy and talk to your pharmacist, and if they can get the vaccines done for the whole family? It breaks more barriers.”
The changes take effect next February. But specific training is required and it’s unclear how many pharmacists will be accredited to proceed at that time.
Constantinescu cautions parents against waiting until February to get their children immunized, noting influenza A, for example, tends to peak much earlier in the season.
CBC News asked Alberta Health about the coming changes.
“We are currently reviewing the standard and no decisions related to the immunization programs have been made at this time,” an Alberta Health spokesperson said in an email.
According to Eberhart, no policy changes are needed at the provincial level for this change to proceed.
“The authority for pharmacists was always there. It was our own standards that provided the limitation,” he said.
A further statement from the Alberta College of Pharmacy said the new standards “were reviewed by Alberta Health before being approved by ACP council in June 2024.”
According to the college, once the standards take effect in February, pharmacists with specific authorization and training will be able to administer age appropriate injections to anyone two years of age or older.