This Saturday, the Corner Drug Store, Mount Allison University, and New Brunswick Public Health are collaborating on a mass vaccination clinic aimed at getting booster shots to those between 18 and 29. To get an appointment, people must be double vaccinated, over 18 or about to turn 18, and under 30. They must also register with the Corner Drug Store website at thecornerdrugstore.ca
Corner Drug pharmacist/owner Charles Beaver says there’s a “large cohort of people ages 18 to 29 that qualify for a Pfizer booster that we’re having a hard time getting done through the pharmacy because of capacity limits.” People 29 and under are being given the Pfizer vaccine exclusively, due to increased risk for that age group with the Moderna vaccine.
“It has been shown that there’s a somewhat higher risk of heart inflammation in the younger population using Moderna,” says Beaver. “It’s not that we can’t give Moderna to someone under 30, but it can only be done with informed consent. And we recommend against it, unless the person has a compelling reason why they want that.”
On the flip side, that means that for people 30 and over, Moderna will be the only booster available for the time being, says Beaver. “Because there are supply interruptions with Pfizer right now, the province has told us that only Moderna will be available to people age 30 and up, for the foreseeable future. We don’t know how long that will be.”
Saturday’s clinic is expected to serve 600 or more people, and will take place in Mount Allison’s Athletic Centre. Beaver warns that it’s not an accessible venue. “If anybody has accessibility needs that can’t go into the Athletic Centre, certainly give us a call at the Corner Drug Store and we can fit them in there. No problem.”
Beaver and the Corner Drug Store team have been active in the vaccine rollout for about ten months now, and have administered more than 11,000 shots. This Saturday’s mass clinic is not the first Beaver has coordinated with public health. He also helped with several clinics at the Tantramar Civic Centre earlier in the rollout.
“The team is still pulling together amazingly well,” says Beaver. “Certainly we get tired just like everyone else does. But it’s an emergency.”
Beaver says that with the Omicron variant surging, “we feel compelled to offer booster doses as quickly as we can.”
He advises anyone holding off on scheduling their booster dose due to a brand preference, to rethink that choice. “If there’s a medical reason why, let us know. Otherwise, it really is not a good idea to wait,” says Beaver. “Single and double vaccinated people just get sicker than people who have had their booster dose. And with the strain on our health care system right now, it’s very important for people to be vaccinated with their booster as soon as possible.”
In Sackville, people can get vaccinated at the Corner Drug Store, the Jean Coutu pharmacy, and at occasional public health clinics at the Sackville Visitor Information centre. The next of those clinics are slated for February 5, 7 and 24.