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5 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,N ovem ber 25,2021 w aterloochronicle.ca Tuesday November 30, 2021 ThisGiving Tuesday, helpHabitat for Humanity buildmore affordable houses for families in WaterlooRegion. Donate Today: habitatwr.ca/donate Waterloo Region will be- gin administering chil- dren's doses of the CO- VID-19 vaccine to five to 11 year olds at the end of the week. The vaccine will start going into arms on Nov. 26, with parents/guardians able to book an appoint- ment for their children to get a vaccine at a regional vaccination clinic on Nov. 23 on the Region of Water- loo website at www.regio- nofwaterloo.ca. When the region opens its booking system for ap- pointments, a "sufficient number" of appointments will be released for the next four weeks so children can receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine before the holidays, according to a news release from the re- gion. There will also be op- portunities for children in the age group to get the vac- cine from some doctor's of- fices (for their patients), and participating pharma- cies. Parents/guardians can check pharmacy web- sites as online booking is sometimes available. This age group will be eligible to receive their first dose now and a second dose in eight weeks. To prioritize adminis- tering children's doses for five to 11 year olds, from Nov. 27 through to Dec. 12, the three regional vaccina- tion clinics -- Cambridge Pinebush, The Boardwalk, Wellesley -- will only be administering first and second doses of the vac- cine. The Cambridge Pine- bush vaccination clinic will be ramping up its ca- pacity on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12 to vaccinate approximately 3,000 children per day (6,000 doses altogether). When appointments for children's doses opens, par- ents and families have the option of booking their child's appointment for the special "Every Dose Counts" event at Cam- bridge Pinebush. Anyone eligible for a third dose is advised that many appointments are still available at regional vaccination clinics until Nov. 26. Third doses will not be available from Nov. 27 through to Dec. 12 while the priority is administer- ing first doses to children aged five to 11. Appointments for third doses will be available again beginning the week of Dec. 13 at all regional vaccination clinics. Some doctors' office and pharma- cies may also be prioritiz- ing children's doses for the next few weeks. The Region of Waterloo and local school boards are working together to offer parents and families addi- tional opportunities to get their children and family members vaccinated at schools in the community. The region will an- nounce the dates and loca- tions of these evening and weekend school vaccina- tion clinics in the coming days. All mobile vaccina- tion clinics will be listed on the region's website, as in- formation becomes avail- able, at www.regionofwa- terloo.ca. Parents and families with questions and con- cerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines are en- couraged to speak with their family doctor, pedia- trician or other trusted health professional. Clinic staff are also able to sup- port a child to have a posi- tive vaccination experi- ence. COVID VACCINATION CLINICS STARTING DOSES FOR CHILDREN Children ages 5 to 11 will be able to get their Pfizer vaccines in Waterloo Region Nov. 26. Steve Somerville/Metroland NEWS BOOKING BEGINS TUESDAY, NOV. 26