The number of children under the age of five getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in Ontario is even lower than the relatively small numbers many experts had expected.
Shots for the youngest age group have been available for two months, but only about six per cent of those kids have had their first dose.
Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, says that is lower than the numbers he thought he would see by this point.
He says in particular parents whose children have underlying conditions should consider vaccination and should talk to their health-care provider.
Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and associate professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa, says false ideas that the pandemic is over and that kids don't get sick with COVID-19 are likely contributing.
Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, the medical officer of health for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, says he hopes vaccination for young children will speed up through the fall, as he had anticipated an overall uptake of about 25 to 30 per cent.
He says there is a general hesitancy from parents when it comes to any kind of vaccine or medication for children of that age.