Second booster eligibility opens up, Corner Drug Store asks people to register online
Anyone 18 and over can now get a second booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine in New Brunswick. The provincial government announced the expanded eligibility in a release Tuesday afternoon, saying the decision was based on current trends in the province that show “increasing risk”.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell says there are signs, “New Brunswick is at the start of a period of heightened activity of COVID-19, driven by Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.”
Tuesday’s announcement immediately set phones ringing off the hook at the Corner Drug Store in Sackville, one of the local pharmacies that offers COVID-19 vaccines.
Pharmacist Charles Beaver says the pharmacy will likely need to expand operations to accommodate the demand, and to that end will be compiling a waitlist of those interested in getting a booster shot. To get on the list, people can register at the Corner Drug Store website at thecornerdrugstore.ca. Beaver asks people not to call the Corner Drug Store to book a COVID vaccination, to help keep the shop from being overwhelmed with calls.
Over at Jean Coutu, the pharmacy just paused its vaccine program for the time being, and it’s not yet known when it might start up again. Online registration is currently disabled for COVID vaccinations at Jean Coutu, and the pharmacy is not taking bookings by phone.
Corner Drug Store pharmacist-owner Charles Beaver says anyone who had their COVID booster more than five or six months ago should be registering for a second booster.… Continue
Wednesday on Tantramar Report: vaccinations update with Charles Beaver and talking progress on sexual violence at Mt A.
Listen to Tantramar Report for the following stories:
Vaccination opportunities in Sackville
Vitalité Health Network is running a walk-in vaccination clinic today at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre from 9am to 4pm. The clinic is open to anyone 12 years and older, and is administering either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. For booster doses of the vaccine, an appointment is necessary.
The Corner Drug Store online registration system is also back up and running for anyone looking for first, second and booster doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Listen to Tantramar Report for a Q&A with pharmacist Charles Beaver about booster doses, flu vaccines, and the plan for kids. Check out the web story here.
“One Year Later: Sexual Violence Prevention at Mt. A”
It was just over one year ago that Michelle Roy called out Mount Allison University’s policies for handling sexual assault on social media, thereby sparking a protest that in turn brought action from Mount Allison’s administration. Organised by the Women and Gender Studies Program, a panel of students and faculty at Mount A are gathering to discuss the progress made in the past year on sexual violence prevention at the university. The panel convenes online at 7pm, and the link to register is here. Listen to Tantramar Report to hear from panelist Dr.… Continue
COVID boosters, flu shots and kids’ vaccines: Q&A with local pharmacist Charles Beaver
Earlier this month, the province of New Brunswick opened up eligibility to COVID-19 booster shots to include anyone over 65 whose second shot was more than 6 months ago. In addition, health care and school workers are eligible, along with people who are immune-compromised. People who received one or two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are also eligible, as well as people with mixed doses who need to travel outside of North America for essential reasons.
On Wednesday in Sackville, the Vitalité Health Network is running a walk-in vaccination clinic at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre from 9am to 4pm. The clinic is open to anyone 12 years and older, and is administering either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines. But walk-in appointments are only available to those getting a first or second shot of a vaccine. For third or booster doses, public health is asking people to make appointments online.
In Sackville, appointments are bookable through public health for the occasional Vitalité clinic hosted in town, but people are also able to book online to get doses through the Corner Drug Store pharmacy.
Recently I spoke with Corner Drug Store pharmacist and owner Charles Beaver with some questions about booster shots and more.
Q: Both Moderna and Pfizer are available for the the third dose or booster shot. How do people know which one they should be requesting?
Charles Beaver: There are folks who want to have their third one be the same as the first two, which makes sense to me.… Continue
Tantramar Report: 7000 vaccinations given at Corner Drug, canoe rentals coming to Silver Lake, and getting out the student vote
Tuesday on Tantramar Report:
A 16-foot utility trailer belonging to the town of Sackville was stolen from behind the Civic Centre sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. The town is asking anyone with information to call the RCMP.
RCMP daily occurrence reports for the Sackville detachment show two break, enter and thefts in private residences over the weekend. In one incident, a vehicle was stolen. Investigations are ongoing in both. In the past week, RCMP have recovered two stolen vehicles in the Sackville detachment area, though investigations into each are ongoing.
The town of Sackville will be introducing kayak and canoe rentals at Silver Lake in 2022, thanks to a $15,000 prize won by residents in the ParticipACTION Community Better Challenge. Town staff hosted an online survey to help select where to spend the money, and more than half (54%) of the 252 voters chose canoe and kayak rentals at Silver Lake. 23% of voters chose Walker Road trail enhancements, 19% chose recreation program subsidies, and just 4% chose enhancements to the existing equipment loan program run by Sackville recreation.
Vitalité Health Network is hosting a drop-in vaccination clinic in Sackville tomorrow at the Tantramar Veterans’ Memorial Civic Centre. From 12:30pm to 7:30pm, the clinic will offer both Pfizer and Moderna doses, and appointments are not required. … Continue
Sackville vaccination update: Pfizer walk-in clinic Thursday and other opportunities available
As the number of vaccinated people in New Brunswick goes up, the rate at which people are getting vaccinated is going down. The province in now inching very slowly towards its public health goal of 75% of eligible people vaccinated with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
That means the hardest part of the vaccination effort could still be ahead, says Corner Drug Store owner-pharmacist Charles Beaver.
“The large numbers of people and difficulty managing the volumes are over,” he says. “Now, this is almost even more important work, really, because we need to fill in the gaps of folks that didn’t get a first dose yet, or have yet to receive their second dose.”
With the presence of the more easily transmissible Delta variant, and higher case counts in New Brunswick, “it’s more urgent than ever that that folks act now,” says Beaver.
This Thursday, Corner Drug is open again to walk-in vaccinations. The clinic will have Pfizer vaccine on hand to administer to those with or without an appointment.
As of August 10, there are also appointments available at the Jean Coutu pharmacy in Sackville, the Village Pharmacy in Port Elgin, and Pharmacie Memramcook in Memramcook.
The Vitalite Health Network has also scheduled another mass vaccination clinic at the Tantramar Civic Centre in two weeks time, on Thursday August 26.
Beaver says he is also coordinating with Mount Allison University to make sure arriving students have an opportunity to get vaccinated.… Continue
Corner Drug Store to expand capacity for second doses
Eligibility for second doses of COVID-19 vaccinations opens up today to include anyone who got their first shot more than 4 weeks, or 28 days, ago.
In Sackville, the Corner Drug Store and Jean Coutu pharmacies continue to offer first and second doses, however the Vitalité Health Network clinics are the Tantramar Civic Centre are on pause until July 14.
But Sackvillians may not have to worry about reduced capacity locally for vaccinations, since according to local pharmacist Charles Beaver, the RHA, public health and Corner Drug Store are collaborating to ramp up capacity at the Sackville pharmacy.
Here’s Charles Beaver in conversation on Tantramar Report:
“We’re working with Public Health to partner and provide local access at the at the Corner Drug Store site,” says Beaver. “Plans are in the making. And we’re very hopeful that as soon as June 28, there’ll be a lot more access available locally.”
Despite eligibility opening up today, the local second dose rollout will take some time, says Beaver. “It would be impossible to do everybody who was done more than 28 days ago, all in a week, or two weeks, or even three weeks.” Unless there are special medical circumstances, the pharmacy is booking second dose appointments in the order that people received their first dose, focussing on earlier first doses getting an earlier second dose.
Beaver says the increased collaboration with public health will mean more access to vaccine doses, which has been a limiting factor until now, and also to provide more qualified vaccinators.… Continue