Health Canada has announced that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for children between the ages of 5 and 11, the first vaccine to be used for this age group in the country. Health officials announced the decision in a press conference on Friday, with the specific timeline of the vaccine rollout to be announced later in the day. “This authorization comes at a critical time in the pandemic,” said Supriya Sharma, the chief clinical adviser at Health Canada, noting that COVID-19 “incident rates”  have been increasing among children under 12. “While children are less likely to experience complications, they can still get very sick. Although the risk of severe illness is lower in children than in adults, it’s still there,” she said. On Oct. 18, Health Canada received an application from Pfizer-BioNTech to expand the use of its vaccine, known as Comirnaty, to children aged 5-11. The vaccine was …