N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Province provides live update on vaccine for young children
CBC
The province is holding a news conference this morning about the Pfizer-BioNTech Cominarty COVID-19 vaccine for young children.
Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, are discussing the vaccine for children aged five to 11. Dr. Rachel Ouellette, a general consulting pediatrician, is also taking part.
The event is being livestreamed here on CBC New Brunswick's website and on the government's YouTube channel in English and in French.
The first shipment of vaccine is expected to arrive in the province today.
On Monday, the government said it anticipates these first doses will be administered before the end of the week through regional health authority community clinics and pharmacies.
About 54,500 children are eligible to receive the vaccine, approved last Friday by Health Canada for children aged five to 11.
New Brunswick children who will turn five by Dec. 31, 2021, will also be eligible, the Department of Health has confirmed.
"Children born between 2010 and 2016 are eligible to receive the COVID-19 pediatric vaccine," spokesperson Gail Harding told CBC News.
Public Health reported 62 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, putting the province's active case count at 647.
Thirty-three people are hospitalized because of the virus, including 15 in intensive care.
As of Monday, 87.5 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 or older are fully vaccinated, and 93.4 per cent have received their first dose.
A total of 547,200 COVID-19 tests have been conducted to date, including 1,004 on Sunday.
New Brunswick has had 7,731 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, including 6,961 recoveries so far and 122 COVID-related deaths.
Public Health has issued a number of new exposure notices for the Saint John region, Zone 2, on Tuesday, including a library, a church and a mall.
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