Public Health Sudbury to tailor sensory-friendly vaccination clinics for children

When Chantal Chartrand first heard her five-year-old daughter could soon be vaccinated against COVID-19 she was ecstatic.

Her daughter Valerie has autism, is non-verbal and has developmental delays. 

Chartrand said the vaccine would provide a first line of defence against COVID-19, because Valerie is unable to wear a mask.

"Because of her three issues, she just can't have anything on her face," Chartrand said. "She'll take it off right away, and it's uncomfortable for her. She can't tolerate it."

Like some other children with special needs, Chartrand said her daughter would require a private and sensory-friendly environment for her COVID-19 vaccination.

A sensory-friendly vaccination clinic would have dimmer lights, less noise and more privacy for the family.

"When we go to see a doctor unlike other children, even if it's just to check her vitals or a hearing test, I do have to restrain her because she won't tolerate anyone touching her," Chartrand said.

"Being on display in an arena or in a pharmacy in front of the public to me doesn't give our family dignity and privacy."

Chartrand and her family live in the Greater Sudbury community of Capreol. When she called Public Health Sudbury and Districts to book an appointment for her daughter, she says she was put on hold for over an hour, and told sensory-friendly vaccination clinics were no longer available in the region.

"I don't know why we're always a second thought kind of thing when it comes to policy makers," Chartrand said. "Especially in northern remote communities, even for therapy, we have a struggle getting that sometimes."

Health unit response

Nastassia McNaire, a program manager with Public Health Sudbury and Districts, said Chartrand's negative experience booking an appointment for her daughter was an "unfortunate miscommunication."

While the health unit no longer offers public sensory-friendly vaccination clinics, McNaire said people can still book sensory-friendly appointments tailored for the individual.

"We work one on one with them to tailor the opportunity to the individual when they can come into one of our clinic spaces for a sensory-friendly appointment," McNaire said.

That sensory-friendly appointment would include dimmed lights, less noise and a slower pace for the individual to get vaccinated. 

Public Health Sudbury and Districts said it needed permission from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to transport a single syringe for the pediatric Pfizer vaccine for sensory-friendly appointments if necessary.

The normal practice is to transport at least a vial's worth of vaccines, equivalent to 10 syringes, to vaccination clinics.

Because there can be less demand for sensory-friendly appointments, larger vaccine deliveries are not always necessary.

"While not recommended as routine practice, in exceptional circumstances it is recommended that diluted pediatric Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty vaccine may be transported in a syringe with careful attention paid to the transportation parameters," the health unit said in an email.