Experts available to comment on COVID-19 vaccines for kids

Health Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for youth aged 5 to 11, marking a major milestone in Canada’s pandemic response.

From addressing parents’ questions and concerns to the impact of vaccinating millions more Canadians on the pandemic’s trajectory, health, medical and ethics experts at Western University and the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry are available to the media for comment.

Dr. Michelle Barton-Forbes, Associate Professor, Paediatrics and Division Chief of Paediatric Infectious Disease, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry

Areas of Expertise: Vaccines and kids, paediatric infectious disease

Dr. Barton-Forbes has penned a Q&A addressing common questions about the COVID-19 vaccine for young children. Please note she has very limited availability for interviews.

Dr. Samira Jeimy, Program Director, Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry

Areas of Expertise: Vaccines for children, immune systems, vaccine safety, drug allergy

Dr. Saverio Stranges, Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry

Areas of Expertise: Epidemiology and public health, impact of vaccinations, impact of COVID-19 restrictions on children

Dr. Stephen Wetmore, Chair/Chief, Department of Family Medicine, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry

Areas of Expertise: Addressing vaccine hesitancy, role of family doctors in vaccine rollout

Dr. Michael Silverman, Chair, Division of Infectious Disease, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry

Areas of Expertise: Infectious diseases, impact of lockdowns and restrictions on children

Anthony Skelton, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Core Member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy

Areas of Expertise: Ethics of vaccination, Moral philosophy, bio ethics

Maxwell Smith, PhD, Bioethicist and Assistant Professor, School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences

Areas of Expertise: Ethics and pandemics, including resource allocation, priority setting, and health equity

Commentary reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on issues being addressed.

MEDIA CONTACT: Max Martin, Media Relations Officer, 519.709.3931 (mobile), mmart47@uwo.ca