Peel Public Health brings superhero campaign to COVID-19 vaccination clinics for kids in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a vaccine!

Peel Public Health wants kids in Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon to feel like superheroes when they get their first COVID-19 vaccines.

With colourful superhero name tags and kid-friendly content, Peel Public Health (PPH) says a superhero-themed campaign will help keep kids comfortable and safe when getting immunized.

Peel medical officer of health Dr. Lawrence Loh even got some help spreading the news about pediatric vaccines from Brampton Batman last week in a now “retired” video.

“We’ve got longer appointments, we’ve got more space for families…It’s going to be a lot of fun I think for kids to come and get vaccinated,” Loh told insauga.com on Wednesday.

You can watch the entire video interview here.

Loh, who has children of his own that are in the five to 11 age group, said he’s already scheduled vaccine appointments for his kids and urged other parents to follow book an appointment as soon as possible.

PPH will be running after-hours clinics in some schools across the region, but Loh said there are currently no plans for an in-school vaccination program during class hours.

“We’re trying to make sure that that school clinics will be after-hours, and they’ll be really family oriented, as will all of our clinics, just to make sure that it’s a comfortable and safe experience for our children,” he said.

While parental consent is not technically required for children to get immunized against COVID-19, Loh said he recommends kids “make the decision with the parents” and said he wants vaccination “to be a family experience.”

“We are not forcing vaccines on people, but it is our strong recommendation and encouragement that children get (the vaccine) to protect themselves form those rare but severe outcomes,” he said.

As of Thursday, kids aged five to 11 will be able to get vaccinated at a primary care clinic, and vaccinations for this age group will be available at mass vaccination centres starting on Friday.

Bookings can be made through the provincial vaccine portal.