British Columbia’s Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has renewed her call for parents to vaccinate their children against COVID.

“Getting your children vaccinated is the best way to protect them from vaccine-preventable illnesses that can cause serious illness, long-term disability and even death,” she said in a Monday release. 

“Children six and under are eligible for free vaccines to protect them from more than a dozen diseases, such as COVID-19, influenza, polio, measles and chickenpox,” she added.

Henry’s push for 6-year-olds to receive COVID vaccinations comes as new research from England casts doubt on the overall safety and effectiveness of these vaccines in children and adolescents. 

The study, conducted in collaboration with NHS England, analyzed data from over one million children and adolescents who received the BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech).

The study found a notable risk of adverse events, particularly myocarditis and pericarditis, among adolescents who received the vaccine. 

“All myocarditis and pericarditis events during the study period occurred in vaccinated individuals,” the researchers concluded.

The study also found that COVID-related outcomes in younger children were so rare that precise risk ratios could not be established.

The study also showed that the risk of Accident & Emergency attendance and unplanned hospitalizations was slightly higher after the first vaccination dose compared to unvaccinated children.

Since the “safe and effective” COVID shots were mandated, a survey commissioned by Health Canada reveals that 1 in 3 Canadians are less confident in all vaccines. 

Last year, an eight-year-old boy from Israel tragically died of a heart attack, three years after appearing in a government-sponsored video that promoted the COVID vaccine for children.