N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 111 new cases, booster wait now 5 months over fear of post-holiday wave
CBC
New Brunswick reported 111 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and announced it's reducing the time people 50 and older have to wait to get their COVID-19 vaccine booster shot to five months.
Premier Blaine Higgs told reporters the decision was prompted in part by fears of an "unmanageable" wave of cases after Christmas holiday gatherings.
"If people don't get vaccinated with their booster, then the most vulnerable, which are, you know, the 50-plus, are going to be in a situation after Christmas, or during Christmas, that does give us concern," he said.
Until now, people have only been eligible for a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine if six months have passed since their second dose.
But in a news release Wednesday, Public Health said people 50 and older who are due for a booster any time in December can book an appointment now, even if a full six months have not passed.
More booster dose clinics have also been added provincewide, in an effort to reduce the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19, it said.
"There's no harm done by getting it earlier," said Higgs, and the province has "lots of vaccines."
Officials discussed the six-month rule during a meeting Tuesday night, he said. "We were talking about, well, all right, what if it's less than that? Are we worried about that? If we're worried about the age and demographics and the vulnerability, are we worried if they get it in five months, or they get it sooner than six months?
"And really the response I got was, 'No, we're not.' So I think what you're going to see is something that just says, pharmacies can book people that are 50-plus. It's not like they're going to say, 'Well, you're not six months yet, you're shy of that by about a week. So you've got to wait.' I think we'll see more pharmacies say, 'No, come on in, get vaccinated.'"
The announcement came as a surprise to Jake Reid, executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association.
"Huh. That would be news to immunizers," he posted on Twitter.
A total of 82.1 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, up from 82 per cent, and 87.8 per cent have received their first dose, up from 87.6.
That includes 10,544 first doses of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine that have been administered to children aged five to 11 since appointments opened on Nov. 26, Public Health said.
The province's goal is to get at least 90 per cent of the total population fully vaccinated.