More than one-quarter of eligible New Brunswickers now fully vaccinated; one new COVID-19 case reported Friday

HALIFAX -

New Brunswick is reporting one new case of COVID-19 on Friday.

The case is in the province's Bathurst region (Zone 6) and involves an individual in their 30s. Public health says the case is related to travel.

Three previously reported infections in New Brunswick are now considered recovered, with the total number of active cases dropping to 38 - the lowest number of active cases the province has seen since mid-March.

VACCINE UPDATE

Health officials in New Brunswick marked a milestone on Thursday, with more than 13,000 second doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered that day.

Currently, more than one-quarter of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated.

“I am so pleased to see the increasing number of New Brunswickers being vaccinated with both doses,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of healthin a news release. “Immunizers and clinic staff across New Brunswick have been reporting record numbers of doses administered this week. They’re hard at work helping New Brunswickers get the maximum protection from COVID-19 and its variants and I want to thank them and all New Brunswickers for doing their part in working towards our path to Green.”

New Brunswick's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the amount of vaccines that have been administered to date.

As of Friday, 708,727 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in New Brunswick. The province says 77 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose, with 25.2 per cent now fully vaccinated.

"Over the past seven days, more than 73,600 first and second doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across the province and more than 91,000 people have booked appointments for a Vitalité or Horizon health network clinic," wrote the province in a news release.

Public health says these numbers do not include individuals who booked appointments through a pharmacy.

According to Alistair Bursey, a pharmacist in Fredericton, now that more people are eligible to receive their second dose, the majority of appointments he is seeing booked are for a second COVID-19 shot.

"There's a huge demand. We had clinics in our pharmacy for two days this week and we did about 600 patients," said Bursey. "There's probably 200 to 300 more that we had to turn away until next week."

While spots for second doses are filling up, Bursey says he is seeing fewer people under the age of 40 lining up to roll up their sleeve.

"We are still seeing not as many as we would hope and there are key age groups that we would hope to see more people come in to get their first dose," said Bursey.

New Brunswick hopes to reach the green level of their Path to Green on August 2 where all restrictions will be lifted. However, in order to meet that goal, at least 75 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers must be fully vaccinated.

Eligible New Brunswickers can book a second-dose vaccine appointment if at least 28 days has passed since their first dose.

To receive their second dose, New Brunswickers are asked to bring a signed consent form, their Medicare card and a copy of the record of immunization provided after receiving their first dose.

Appointments for people who have not yet received their first dose continue to be available to all New Brunswickers aged 12 and older at regional health authority clinics and through participating pharmacies.

People who received AstraZeneca both times can rest assured that the vaccine provides protection against infection, severe disease and hospitalization.

Public Health is also reminding New Brunswickers to keep a copy of their Record of Immunization form as their official proof of vaccination.

N.B. COVID-19 CASE DATA

New Brunswick has had 2,323 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

In total, 2,239 people have recovered, and 45 people have died in the province from COVID-19.

Four people are currently in hospital with COVID-19, including one in an intensive care unit.

In a news release from public health, it says 503 tests were completed on Thursday in New Brunswick, and 359,801 total since the start of the pandemic.

The number of cases are broken down by New Brunswick’s seven health zones:

• Zone 1 – Moncton region: 475 confirmed cases (1 active case)
• Zone 2 – Saint John region: 298 confirmed cases (3 active cases)
• Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 442 confirmed cases (20 active cases)
• Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 752 confirmed cases (no active cases)
• Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 185 confirmed cases (no active cases)
• Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 132 confirmed cases (14 active cases)
• Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 39 confirmed cases (no active cases)

Public health also reported a potential COVID-19 exposure related to a flight. A full list of exposures can be found on the government website.

YELLOW LEVEL REMINDER

All of New Brunswick remains under the Yellow level of recovery under the province’s order.