Vancouver’s Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon (RMHBC) — a facility supporting sick kids receiving specialized care in Vancouver for nearly 40 years — will be requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for children ages five and older..RMHBC describes itself as a place “filled with hope and love, built on the belief that keeping family together is an essential part of healing children with serious illness,” however as of January 17, unvaccinated children and families will no longer be included..“How absolutely evil,” Austin Fergasun can be heard telling an RMHBC manager in a video he posted to Facebook..Ferguson has a four-year-old son with leukemia who will be evicted from the facility..The house will allow a “grace period” until January 31 for children and families who have only received one dose..“Please visit our front desk to scan your BC vaccination passport, confirming proof of vaccination or provide the vaccination card for those under 12 years of age,” writes RMHBC in a January 10 statement signed by Leslie Louie, senior director of Family Services..The mandate will be in effect not only at RMHBC’s 73 bedroom house near BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, but also the “Family Room” which operates in Surrey Memorial Hospital..“RMHBC is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all its family guests, workers, visitors and volunteers in accordance with the applicable occupational health and safety legislation and public health guidelines,” writes the organization..The vaccine approved for children 5-11 by Health Canada is the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine..The Pfizer vaccine was tested on 1,517 kids between the ages of 5-11 over a 2.3 month period, therefore long-term safety and efficacy data is often brought into question, according to the Canadian Covid Care Alliance..Children 12 to 17 may take the Pfizer- BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine or Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine..The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends Pfizer vaccines for children due to a greater chance of heart inflammation associated with Moderna in those younger than 29..Vancouver’s Dr. Steven Pelech told the Western Standard he has “serious concerns” — of thrombosis, myocarditis, and pericarditis — regarding the pressure to vaccinate children against COVID-19, regardless of which vaccine is administered..Pelech recently brought a petition, which closed January 6, to the House of Commons to stop the use of COVID-19 vaccines in children..Following Health Canada’s approval of Pfizer’s vaccine for children ages 5-11 in November, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, told CBC Radio-Canada the government may start vaccinating babies and toddlers against COVID by early this year, pending approval..As for the self-described “home away from home” for sick children, RMHBC maintains the belief that everyone — including five-year-olds — should be “fully vaccinated as directed by the applicable health authorities,” and will no longer accommodate unvaccinated children within its facilities..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
Vancouver’s Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon (RMHBC) — a facility supporting sick kids receiving specialized care in Vancouver for nearly 40 years — will be requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 for children ages five and older..RMHBC describes itself as a place “filled with hope and love, built on the belief that keeping family together is an essential part of healing children with serious illness,” however as of January 17, unvaccinated children and families will no longer be included..“How absolutely evil,” Austin Fergasun can be heard telling an RMHBC manager in a video he posted to Facebook..Ferguson has a four-year-old son with leukemia who will be evicted from the facility..The house will allow a “grace period” until January 31 for children and families who have only received one dose..“Please visit our front desk to scan your BC vaccination passport, confirming proof of vaccination or provide the vaccination card for those under 12 years of age,” writes RMHBC in a January 10 statement signed by Leslie Louie, senior director of Family Services..The mandate will be in effect not only at RMHBC’s 73 bedroom house near BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, but also the “Family Room” which operates in Surrey Memorial Hospital..“RMHBC is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all its family guests, workers, visitors and volunteers in accordance with the applicable occupational health and safety legislation and public health guidelines,” writes the organization..The vaccine approved for children 5-11 by Health Canada is the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine..The Pfizer vaccine was tested on 1,517 kids between the ages of 5-11 over a 2.3 month period, therefore long-term safety and efficacy data is often brought into question, according to the Canadian Covid Care Alliance..Children 12 to 17 may take the Pfizer- BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine or Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine..The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends Pfizer vaccines for children due to a greater chance of heart inflammation associated with Moderna in those younger than 29..Vancouver’s Dr. Steven Pelech told the Western Standard he has “serious concerns” — of thrombosis, myocarditis, and pericarditis — regarding the pressure to vaccinate children against COVID-19, regardless of which vaccine is administered..Pelech recently brought a petition, which closed January 6, to the House of Commons to stop the use of COVID-19 vaccines in children..Following Health Canada’s approval of Pfizer’s vaccine for children ages 5-11 in November, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, told CBC Radio-Canada the government may start vaccinating babies and toddlers against COVID by early this year, pending approval..As for the self-described “home away from home” for sick children, RMHBC maintains the belief that everyone — including five-year-olds — should be “fully vaccinated as directed by the applicable health authorities,” and will no longer accommodate unvaccinated children within its facilities..Reid Small is a BC-based reporter for the Western Standard.,rsmall@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/reidsmall
