Some New Brunswick pharmacies opt-out of vaccine program as demand drops
For more than four months now, pharmacists in New Brunswick have been going ‘flat out,’ administering nearly 450,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and counting.
“All of this, of course, is on top of the other work that they do,” says Jake Reid, executive director of New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association.
“Including giving out medications, and providing health services, so it’s been very, very busy for pharmacists.”
New Brunswick has now vaccinated more than 81 per cent of the eligible population with a first dose and more than 66 per cent have now received their second dose.
However, the New Brunswick Pharmacists’ Association says demand for COVID-19 vaccines is dropping and about 30 community pharmacies in the province have now opted-out of the vaccine program, with 179 now active.
“That’s certainly something we expected and not something anyone should be worried about,” says Reid. “There is a de-escalation happening right now as pharmacy staff take some time for themselves.”
A wind-down is also coming in the way Public Health reports its COVID-19 information. Once the province goes green – which is scheduled to happen on July 30 at 11:59 p.m. – news releases on cases and vaccination rates will no longer be routinely posted on weekdays.
“I think for me that’s where I get my information, in terms of case origin information,” says Halifax-based epidemiologist Kevin Wilson.
“Although I think if you wanted to, you could extrapolate that from the dashboard day-after-day, although I think it’s more work.”
However, there’s still some skepticism about the province’s plans to lift the mandatory order – including from infectious disease expert Dr. Lisa Barrett, who made her position on New Brunswick’s dropping of the mask mandate combined with the opening of borders.
“Do I think that doing the two before you reach your vaccine target is based in science? I don’t really think so.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Centre Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs hasn't been ruled out of tonight's Game 7 against the Boston Bruins.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.