Vaccines for children: COVID-19
Ready to vaccinate?
On this page
- Making the decision to vaccinate
- Impacts of COVID-19 on children and youth
- Importance of vaccines
- When to vaccinate children and youth
- Vaccination after being infected with COVID-19
- Possible side effects
- Safety and monitoring
- Have a positive vaccination experience
- Individual public health measures
Making the decision to vaccinate
As a parent or guardian, you want what's best for your child. It's normal to ask questions about COVID-19 vaccination before making a decision.
If you need more specific information, or have questions, consult a health care provider. You can also find information on your provincial, territorial or local public health authority's website.
Learn more about:
- Provincial and territorial information on COVID-19 vaccination and bookings
- Get the facts: Vaccinating children against COVID-19 (printable poster)
Impacts of COVID-19 on children and youth
Vaccines continue to offer good protection against the most severe outcomes of COVID-19.
Most children and youth who get COVID-19 have mild or no symptoms but some:
- require hospitalization for complications, such as difficulty breathing
- experience longer-term effects if they do get infected
- get a rare but serious complication called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C)
- this is a condition that can occur several weeks after COVID-19
- MIS-C involves inflammation in the body and it can affect the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes or gastrointestinal organs
- symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea and skin rash
- the majority of children and adolescents in Canada who have had this condition have fully recovered with treatment
Increase protection against severe COVID-19 outcomes and illness by:
- getting children in your care vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine
- helping children stay up to date with their vaccines
Children and youth at higher risk
Children and youth with certain underlying medical conditions may have a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. It's especially important for children who are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness to stay up to date with their vaccines.
Underlying medical conditions that may put children at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness include:
- obesity
- asthma
- Down syndrome
- neurological disorders
- immunocompromising conditions
- conditions that require a lot of medical care
Children who have multiple (2 or more) long-lasting conditions are at also higher risk for severe COVID-19. If you don't know if your child is at increased risk of severe outcomes because of an underlying medical condition, ask a health care provider.
Learn more about:
- Post COVID-19 condition (long-term symptoms)
- Ask the experts COVID-19 vaccine questions: Benefits and effectiveness
Importance of vaccines
Vaccines help lower your child's risk of getting seriously sick from COVID-19. They work with the body's natural defences to develop protection against disease. The COVID-19 vaccine makes the immune system create antibodies and immune memory. This allows the body to remember the virus and react quickly to fight infection before kids can get really sick.
When to vaccinate children and youth
All children and youth aged 6 months to 17 years can receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Only mRNA vaccines are approved for use in children and youth.
The COVID-19 vaccine dose size varies according to a child’s age.
Learn more about:
Children 6 months to 5 years of age
Children 6 months to 5 years of age may be offered an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for the primary series. It’s recommended that doses be at least 8 weeks apart.
- Moderna Spikevax is approved as a 2-dose primary series for children 6 months to 5 years of age.
- Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty is approved as a 3-dose primary series for children 6 months to 4 years of age.
Before beginning or continuing the primary vaccine series, it’s recommended that children 6 months to 5 years of age wait 8 weeks after:
- a positive COVID-19 test or
- the start of COVID-19 symptoms
Children 5 to 11 years of age
Two vaccine doses at least 8 weeks apart are recommended for children 5 to 11 years of age in Canada.
Children who turn 12 before their second dose in a primary series should receive the higher dose to complete their primary series.
For children 5 to 11 years of age who get COVID-19, it's recommended to wait 8 weeks before receiving the next dose in a primary series.
Youth 12 to 17 years of age
Two COVID-19 vaccine doses 8 weeks apart are recommended for youth 12 years of age and older.
For youth who get COVID-19, it's recommended to wait 8 weeks before receiving the next dose in a primary series.
Children and youth who are immunocompromised
A primary series plus an additional dose is recommended for children and adolescents who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. This is because people who are immunocompromised may have a lower immune response to COVID-19 vaccines.
Children 6 months to 4 years of age
A 3-dose primary series of the Moderna Spikevax vaccine is preferred, with an interval of 4 to 8 weeks between each dose.
If Moderna Spikevax is unavailable, a 4-dose series of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine may be offered. The recommended interval is 4 to 8 weeks between each dose.
Children and youth 5 to 17 years of age
Children and youth in this age group should also receive an additional dose for a primary series. The recommended interval is 4 to 8 weeks between each dose.
For children and youth who are immunocompromised who get COVID-19, it's recommended to wait 4 to 8 weeks before receiving the next dose in a primary series.
Parents and caregivers of moderately to severely immunocompromised children and youth are encouraged to speak with a health care provider to learn more about vaccination and other ways to protect them against COVID-19.
Booster doses
A booster dose is strongly recommended for children and youth 5 to 17 years old if they’re at high risk of severe COVID-19 illness due to:
- a medical condition
- other factors
All other children and youth 5 to 17 years of age may be offered a booster dose.
A booster dose should be given 6 months from the last dose of the primary series or having COVID-19.
Learn more about:
Learn more about:
Vaccination after being infected with COVID-19
Vaccination is important, even if you’ve had COVID-19. While infection alone provides some protection, vaccination after infection:
- helps improve the immune response
- provides better and longer-lasting protection
Children and youth who experienced COVID-19 before any primary series dose should wait:
- 2 months after symptoms started before receiving the next dose in their primary series or
- 2 months after testing positive (if they didn’t experience any symptoms) before receiving the next dose in their primary series
Children and youth who are immunocompromised are recommended to wait 4 to 8 weeks after having COVID-19 to receive the next dose in a primary series.
Children and youth 5 to 17 years of age may be offered a booster dose:
- 6 months after their last COVID-19 vaccine dose or
- 6 months after they had COVID-19
In some circumstances, they may be eligible to receive a booster dose after 3 months.
Learn more about:
Possible side effects
Side effects can be expected as your body responds to a vaccine. Side effects for children and youth are similar to those for adults.
Some people have no side effects while others may have some type of reaction. Reactions are most often mild and go away by themselves within hours or days. The COVID-19 vaccine ingredients are no longer in the body after a few days. Only the immune response to protect against COVID-19 remains.
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Rare reactions that have been reported
As with all vaccines, there's a very small chance that there will be a serious side effect.
Learn more about:
- COVID-19 vaccine safety and side effects: Allergic reactions
- COVID-19 vaccine safety and side effects: Myocarditis and pericarditis
Safety and monitoring
Millions of children in Canada and around the world have safely received COVID-19 vaccines. Some rare reactions have been reported.
Only vaccines that meet the safety, effectiveness and quality standards of Health Canada are approved for use in Canada. COVID-19 vaccines are tested during their development according to international standards and then carefully reviewed by Health Canada. The benefits of all COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks of the disease.
Learn more about:
- COVID-19 vaccine safety and side effects: Myocarditis and pericarditis
- Ask the experts COVID-19 vaccines questions: Safety, ingredients and side effects
- COVID-19: How effective the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine was in protecting trial participants
- COVID-19: How effective the Moderna Spikevax vaccine was in protecting trial participants
- Ask the experts COVID-19 vaccines questions: Development, review and approval
- CANVax's MIICOVAC project: Meet virtually with a vaccination counsellor
Ongoing monitoring for safety
Vaccine safety monitoring doesn't stop after approval of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Canada has a strong vaccine safety monitoring system that continually works to detect rare side effects that didn't appear in clinical trials.
Canada also has a safety surveillance system in place that's specifically designed for monitoring pediatric vaccinations. The Immunization Monitoring Program ACTive (IMPACT) is a pediatric, hospital-based network administered by the Canadian Paediatric Society. It has been used to monitor childhood vaccination for more than 20 years.
In addition, monitoring is also done by:
- Health Canada
- the Public Health Agency of Canada
- vaccine manufacturers
- provinces and territories
These organizations continue to monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccines as they’re rolled out in vaccination programs in Canada and around the world.
Learn more about:
- Vaccine development and approval in Canada
- COVID-19: How vaccines are developed (video)
- Ask the experts COVID-19 vaccines questions: Monitoring safety after approval
Have a positive vaccination experience
Children, youth and their families may have concerns about vaccination. Knowing what to expect can help ease worries and make vaccination a positive experience for your family.
Learn more about:
- Vaccines for children: What to expect at the vaccination appointment
- SickKids: CARD (comfort, ask, relax, distract) System for families
Have a family discussion about vaccination
Talk to children and youth about the importance of getting vaccinated.
- Tell them about vaccination using age-appropriate language.
- Tell them what will happen and how it will feel.
- Communicate using neutral language.
- Try using words such as 'pressure' or 'poke' to describe how it might feel.
- Avoid misleading information like 'it won't hurt.'
- Answer their questions and tell them what you'll do to help make it a better experience.
- Teach them about false information, and make sure they know to:
- ask questions if they aren't sure
- verify information before sharing it with others
Learn more about:
- Ask the experts video series: COVID-19 vaccines questions
- Canada's Centre for Digital Literacy's Check First, Share After campaign
- Canadian Paediatric Society: How can we talk to kids about COVID-19?
Individual public health measures
Regardless of your vaccination status, continue to:
- follow all local public health and setting-specific recommendations
- choose lower-risk activities and settings when possible
- layer multiple individual public health measures as needed, which include:
- staying home when sick
- wearing a well-fitting mask (preferably a medical mask or respirator, such as an N95 or KN95)
- cleaning your hands regularly
It's important to respect choices made by caregivers. We'll continue to provide updates as more data emerges. We aim to help caregivers make informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccination for their children.
Learn more about:
- COVID-19: Individual public health measures
- COVID-19 mask use: Types of masks and respirators
- My COVID-19 visit risk calculator
- COVID-19: Provincial and territorial resources
Related links
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