When can you get an Omicron booster? Here’s how provinces are rolling them out
Global News
Canada has started offering Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, which has been approved as a booster dose for all Canadian adults.
In preparation for an expected fall COVID-19 wave, Canada has started rolling out updated vaccines to target the Omicron variant.
Earlier this month, Health Canada approved Moderna’s bivalent vaccine, which includes the original COVID-19 strain and BA.1 subvariant of the Omicron lineage, to be given as a booster dose to all Canadian adults.
Canada received 780,000 doses of Moderna’s Omicron booster on Sept. 2, with a total of 10.5 million to be delivered by the end of the month, according to Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommends that the bivalent Omicron vaccine be given as a booster dose to people aged 18 and older at least six months after their last dose or COVID-19 infection.
People who are at a high risk of illness may be offered the bivalent shots at a shorter time interval of at least three months, NACI says. Adolescents aged 12-17 who are immunocompromised or otherwise at risk of severe infection are also advised to get the Omicron boosters.
Here’s a look at how different provinces are rolling out the new vaccines and who can get them.
In Ontario, residents who are considered the most vulnerable are being prioritized for the bivalent boosters.
On Monday, the province opened up appointments through its online booking system those aged 70 and older, long-term care residents, Indigenous people, pregnant individuals, those who are immunocompromised and health-care workers.
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