A Kitchener mother says she is feeling a sense of relief now that she can book a COVD-19 vaccine appointment for her three-year-old daughter.

“We’ve been waiting for the pediatric vaccine for a really long time,” said Laura Hug, who booked a vaccine appointment for daughter Kate.

Thursday was the first day children aged six months to five years old were eligible to receive the pediatric Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

“[We are] so excited that we have the availability to get Kate a little bit of protection from the current variants and just reduce her chance of severe disease,” said Hug.

Local appointment availability didn’t last long. Waterloo Region Public Health said the first week of availability at their two clinics is already full. Over the next few weeks, they have opened 70 appointments a day.

One difference with this round of vaccine bookings is bookings can now be made only through the provincial vaccination portal - not the regions.

The shots are also available at participating pharmacies and some family doctors.

“We’re very accustomed to less than five-years-old getting vaccinated in our offices requiring that more attention, particularly, the less than two,” said Dr. Sharon Bal, a Cambridge family physician.

Dr. Bal said she’s already received lots of interest from families at her Cambridge practice but has yet to receive the vaccine. She expects to start administering doses in about two weeks.

“These are multi-dose vials so you do have to plan out a little bit, kind of mini-clinics of about 10 people,” said Dr. Bal.

If booking with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, families need to call public health to set up an appointment as there is no online option.

“I don’t understand how we can be so far into the pandemic and this can be so challenging,” said Dana Rea, who is trying to book a vaccine appointment for her daughters.

Some Guelph parents say they are not having luck when it comes to booking appointments.

“I called a number of pharmacies in Guelph too and they will eventually be able to provide the vaccination but they’re unable to give an appoint at this time,” said Rea.

Dr. Nicola Mercer, WDG Public Health’s medical officer of health, is urging families to give them a call, and if you can’t get through, to leave a voicemail.

“You will get an appointment in the next week or two, absolutely there’s no shortage of vaccines,” said Dr. Mercer.