As of Monday, anyone who received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before May 1 can book an appointment for their second dose. That means 30% of the population are now eligible for a second shot, or roughly 270,000 people.
The province also announced today that as of next Monday June 21, eligibility will open to anyone who has had their shot at least 28 days prior, so starting at those who received a dose on or before May 24, and moving forward from there.
The new eligibility means that the hundreds of people who got their first shot at Vitalité clinics in Sackville starting on April 10 will now be able to book their booster appointment online. But they won’t be able to book an appointment in Sackville for the next month, because Vitalité has decided not to offer further clinics at the Tantramar Civic Centre until July 14.
The decision was made due to a lack of demand for vaccinations for the clinic, says Vitalité spokesperson Thomas Lizotte.
“Our community clinics are set up according to supply and demand,” wrote Lizotte by email last week. Clinics at the civic centre could theoretically take up to 560 appointments, but Lizotte says in half of the clinics offered in Sackville, the health authority was not able to book more than 275 appointments.
Lizotte said last week that Vitalité had no more clinics planned in the Tantramar area, “but we would be open to do so provided there is a demand.”
CHMA has requested the attendance numbers for the Vitalité clinics to date in Sackville. We have also requested information on how demand will be gauged in the absence of any clinics being offered. Vitalité has yet to respond to those requests.
At town council on Monday night, in response to a question from new councillor Ken Hicks, town engineer Dwayne Acton said that over the weekend Vitalité requested two more dates for clinics at the civic centre for July 14 and 28.
In the meantime, to get a second dose before July 14, people in the Tantramar region will need to go to the closest option at the Moncton Colliseum.
Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau is not overly concerned about the lack of future Vitalité clinics planned for Sackville, but says, “the Civic Centre will continue to be an option if necessary and needed.”
Mesheau says the town has, “done everything we can to work closely with Vitalité to make the vaccination centre successful.”
He points out that two pharmacies in town have been, “very active in the roll out of vaccinations as well.”
The Corner Drug Store’s Charles Beaver says that while this week’s appointments at Corner Drug are all booked, there are openings for both first and second doses next week, Tuesday through Friday. The pharmacy expects to received 210 doses of Pfizer and 630 Moderna next Tuesday by noon.
FIRST DOSES DOWN TO A TRICKLE, NB STILL SHY OF 75% GOAL
New Brunswick is still shy of its 75% goal for eligible people receiving a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Only 1430 first doses were reported on Monday, the lowest number in weeks. 74.85% of those 12 and older have now received a first dose. That’s only 66.3% of the general population.
Another 1,345 people need to get a first dose in order to hit the province’s target, which could put New Brunswick into phase one of the “Path to Green.”
The second phase of “Path to Green” will be triggered by the province hitting 20% of the eligible population fully vaccinated with two doses. That shouldn’t be hard to do.
Even before Monday’s announcement opening up eligibility, second dose appointments have been ramping up. Nearly 2500 second doses were reported on Monday.
The third and final phase of the Path to Green requires 75% of eligible people to be fully vaccinated with two doses.
BRANDS DON’T MATTER FOR SECOND DOSES, SAYS RUSSELL
“Someone who received an mRNA vaccine as a first dose does not need to book the same product for a second dose,” says Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell. “If you received Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech, you can book an appointment for either vaccine for your second dose. They work the same way and have similar levels of safety and effectiveness.”
“Like many medications you may take,” says Russell, “when the active ingredient is the same, they work the same way. This approach will help New Brunswickers access their second dose as soon as possible.”
COVID CASE UPDATE
There was one new case of COVID-19 in the province on Monday. The case was in the Bathurst region and traced to a previous contact. There are now 90 active cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick, which includes one person isolating outside of the province.
Zone one had no new cases again Monday, for the fourth day in a row. There are now 19 active cases of COVID-19 in Zone 1.
Testing numbers for Sunday reflect the typical weekend drop in testing, with just 620 tests completed in the province, and 130 of those in Zone 1.
ATLANTIC CANADA & CUMBERLAND
In Nova Scotia, there were eight new cases of COVID-19 reported on Monday, and the total number of active cases in that province has further dropped to 124. The Cumberland Health Network had no new cases for the eleventh day in a row. There is just one active case of COVID-19 in Cumberland County.
PEI reported no new cases and has 4 active cases of COVID-19.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported 4 new cases Monday, and now has 39 active cases of COVID-19.