Demand for COVID-19 vaccines in Sackville is about to go through the roof. A clinic scheduled at the Sackville Visitor Information Centre for today has been cancelled due to the storm. Public Health will be calling to rebook appointments for those scheduled for today’s clinic. The next clinic scheduled in Sackville at the Visitor Information Centre is slated for January 24, though public health is expected to add more.
And as of Monday, thousands more New Brusnwickers will be eligible for a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. At a news conference Friday morning, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard announced that anyone 18 or over will be able to book a third shot on Monday, as long as five months have passed since their second dose.
That means that if you are 18 or over and had your second shot by August 10, 2021, you will be able to book an appointment for a booster, either through a pharmacy or through New Brunswick public health, on Monday. Corner Drug Store pharmacist Charles Beaver reminds people not to call to book with Corner Drug, but to register on the pharmacy’s website instead.
Shephard is encouraging anyone who is currently eligible for a booster to beat the anticipated rush on Monday, and book their booster dose immediately.
On August 10, 2021, about 480,000 people had received two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine in New Brunswick, which includes people 12 and over. As of Thursday this week, 164,358 people had received their booster shot.
Until Monday, eligibility for boosters shots includes the following groups, as long as at least five months has passed since their second dose:
- people 50 and older;
- members of First Nations communities;
- residents of nursing homes and adult residential facilities;
- health-care. long-term care, school and child care personnel and their household members 18 and over.
Immunocompromised people and those who received Janssen or AstraZeneca vaccines are also eligible, without waiting for five months. Full details are available here.
About 14% of the province’s population remain unvaccinated, including kids under 5 who are not eligible. Just over 20% of people are fully vaccinated with three shots of a COVID-19 vaccine.
