New Brunswick expands eligibility for second COVID-19 booster dose
As of Tuesday, New Brunswickers who are 50 and older can go and get a second COVID-19 booster shot at participating pharmacies.
However, the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association's vice president, Paul Bowman, says many of those who are interested in booking another booster may be of age, but not quite eligible due to catching COVID-19.
"Between now and getting their first booster, it seems like, you talk to your friends and family, and certainly over the last couple of months a lot of people seem to have come into contact with the infection," says Bowman.
According to the eligibility guidelines, adults aged 50 and older can get their second booster if it’s been at least five months since their last dose.
Anyone who has been recently infected with the virus should wait three months before getting their fourth shot.
"So, that’s certainly pushing some people back a little further in terms of wanting their fourth dose, but not being currently eligible," says Bowman.
According to numbers released by the province Tuesday, 51.8 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received their first booster dose.
It’s a figure the province’s opposition leader says is far from where he believes it should be.
"I think we’re one of the provinces that have been the least aggressive to be honest in really funding an advertising campaign and its benefits," says Liberal Leader Roger Melanson.
Melanson says, based on what New Brunswick is seeing with third doses, he expects the number of fourth doses to also be low.
To date, 93.1 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 87.8 per cent have received a second.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From AI running wild to collapsing ecosystems, government report outlines future disruptions
From artificial intelligence running wild to collapsing ecosystems, a new Canadian government report outlines 35 disruptions that could rattle the country in the near future.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Matthew Perry's death is being investigated over ketamine level found in actor's blood, reports say
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
Police in Ontario say suspects charged in armed home invasion near Toronto part of 'larger criminal network'
Police in Ontario say a group of suspects charged in an armed home invasion north of Toronto last year were driving a vehicle stolen in a carjacking in Calgary just one month earlier.
Stolen septic truck swerves through traffic, spike belt needed to stop it: Manitoba RCMP
A 29-year-old woman has been charged after police say she stole a septic truck from a Manitoba community and drove erratically on the highway.
Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.