COVID-19 vaccination clinics for Yukon youth begin in 2 weeks

COVID-19 vaccination clinics for Yukon youth aged 12 to 17 will begin at the end of the month and clinic dates will be limited, according to the territorial government.

Yukon health officials announced last week that they had secured a supply of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine from the federal government.

On Tuesday, the Yukon government said clinics to administer first doses to youth will be held in Yukon communities starting in Faro and Ross River on May 31, and in Whitehorse starting on June 1. A complete schedule of dates can be found on the government's website.

Second-dose clinics for youth will begin the week of June 23.

So far, Yukon has only been administering the Moderna vaccine, and only to people aged 18 and up. Yukon requested doses of the Pfizer vaccine after that shot was approved by Health Canada for anyone 12 or older. Moderna is not yet approved for use in anyone under 18.

The N.W.T. began administering the Pfizer vaccine to youth in that territory last week.

The Yukon government says youth vaccination clinics in communities will be held at schools, and in Whitehorse at the Convention Centre.

Young people in Atlin, B.C., can get vaccinated in Whitehorse, and youth from Lower Post, Good Hope Lake and Dease River can get their shots in Watson Lake or Whitehorse.

A government news release on Tuesday said the Pfizer vaccine will only be available to youth "for a short time" because of limited supply, and strict handling requirements. Clinic dates will be "more limited" than those for adults.

So far in Yukon, about 76 per cent of eligible adults have received at least one dose of the Moderna vaccine, and 67 per cent have received both doses.