Maritime provinces prepare to start administering 2nd COVID-19 booster shots
New Brunswick pharmacies will soon be administering second COVID-19 booster doses for those who are 50 and older in the province, following updated guidelines recently released by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).
“Demand has been high,” says Fredericton pharmacist Alistair Bursey. “So, we’re definitely going to expand where maybe we’ve been doing two or three patients per day in our pharmacy – I think we’re going to probably end up seeing 30, 40, or 50 people coming in each clinic daily.”
The fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine will become available for the specified age group on Tuesday.
Meantime, Nova Scotia also announced it too will soon be offering second booster shots to long-term care residents and residents aged 70 and older.
Dr. Zahid Butt, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ont., says it’s especially important for the elderly population to get the fourth dose at this point in time.
“There is waning immunity among the elderly because they were the first ones that got all of their doses, plus the booster dose,” says Butt. “This is a support to boost their immunity, so that’s why you have this fourth booster dose among this population.”
Also starting this week in New Brunswick, high-risk COVID-19 patients will be able to contact their primary care physician for a prescription of the anti-viral treatment Paxlovid.
Bursey says they’re seeing a big increase in the number of prescriptions they’re filling at his Fredericton pharmacy.
“I think we dispensed maybe three or four in the first month or so, and in one week, we dispensed about 15 at our pharmacy, and that’s good because it’s a great treatment and it’s another tool in our arsenal," says Bursey.
The province says Paxlovid will be available at no cost, and while it can be taken at home, it has to be taken within five days of symptoms starting to make it as effective as possible.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Back on air: John Vennavally-Rao on reclaiming his career while living with cancer
'In February, there was a time when I thought my career as a TV reporter was over,' CTV News reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao writes.
The winter solstice is here, the Northern Hemisphere's darkest day
The winter solstice is Saturday, bringing the shortest day and longest night of the year to the Northern Hemisphere — ideal conditions for holiday lights and warm blankets.
Poilievre writes to GG calling for House recall, confidence vote after Singh declares he's ready to bring Liberals down
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has written to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, imploring her to 'use your authority to inform the prime minister that he must' recall the House of Commons so a non-confidence vote can be held. This move comes in light of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh publishing a letter stating his caucus 'will vote to bring this government down' sometime in 2025.
School custodian stages surprise for Kitchener, Ont. students ahead of holiday break
He’s no Elf on the Shelf, but maybe closer to Ward of the Board.
Kelly Clarkson's subtle yet satisfying message to anyone single this Christmas
The singer and daytime-talk show host released a fireside video to accompany her 2021 holiday album, “When Christmas Comes Around” that she dubbed, “When Christmas Comes Around…Again.
Judge sentences Quebecer convicted of triple murder who shows 'no remorse'
A Quebecer convicted in a triple murder on Montreal's South Shore has been sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole for 20 years in the second-degree death of Synthia Bussieres.
At least 2 dead, 60 hurt after car drives into German Christmas market in suspected attack
A car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities suspect was an attack.
16-year-old German exchange student dies after North Vancouver crash
A 16-year-old high school student from Germany who was hit by a Jeep in North Vancouver, B.C., last weekend has died in hospital, authorities confirmed.
Poilievre to Trump: 'Canada will never be the 51st state'
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is responding to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s ongoing suggestions that Canada become the 51st state, saying it will 'never happen.'