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The approval of a COVID-19 vaccine for children between the ages of six months and five years is welcome news for Saskatoon’s Jessica Murphy.
Health Canada announced Thursday that the two-dose Moderna vaccine would soon be going into the arms of the youngest children.
The doses will be given four weeks apart.
The Saskatchewan government said it’s placing an order for the Moderna vaccine and is expecting to get shipments of the kids’ doses next week.
“We will announce the plans to deliver these vaccines throughout the province before they arrive, to permit families to plan to have their children vaccinated as soon as possible,” the government said in a statement.
Murphy is a mom to a three-year-old boy and an eight-month-old girl. Both Murphy and her husband have been vaccinated against COVID.
Jessica Murphy’s children. (Submitted)
“I was fortunate enough to get the vaccines when I was pregnant with my daughter, so I know some of that was passed on to her,” Murphy said.
“My son was kind of an in-between baby. He was only eight months when COVID started. He didn’t get any of those antibodies.”
That’s what worried her when, in January, her husband came down with COVID. Soon, she and her then-two-month-old daughter also caught the virus.
“There was fever (and) there was congestion. You could tell it was just general achiness,” Murphy said. “She wasn’t sleeping very well.
“It was a very uncomfortable time for her, especially because I could slightly medicate as I was breastfeeding, but there’s only so much you can do for an infant at that point.”
Her son, however, had no immunity to COVID, and Murphy was worried. Luckily, she was able to send her son to his grandparents’ home for a couple of weeks.
“It was a full two weeks that we weren’t able to see him. As soon as my husband started to show signs, we knew that my son was the most vulnerable of us because he wasn’t vaccinated, so my parents were able to help us out which we’re very thankful for,” she said.
Murphy’s son is the only person in the immediate family who hasn’t come down with the virus. Murphy hopes it remains that way until he’s able to get his vaccinations. In the meantime, he’s not spending time with large groups of other children.
“My son really hasn’t seen too many kids,” she said. “We go to outdoor gatherings if we can, but very seldom do we bring him to indoor events.”
The family is also planning a trip overseas soon. The hope is that both children will have had their two shots by that time.
“I would like them vaccinated as soon as possible to avoid any travel delays,” said Murphy. “We figure if we’re all vaccinated, then we’re all subject to the same restrictions and there’s not one of us left out from that.”
Until her children are vaccinated, she said they’ll continue to be cautious.
“I think it will give us more of a sense of peace if there’s more protection out there for our kids,” she added.
