Vaccination rates fall off in Nova Scotia amid summer vacation season
The summer vacation season seems to have created a slowdown in vaccination bookings, at least in Nova Scotia.
A pharmacy owner in Baddeck says appointments at his vaccination clinic have slowed down to a trickle, but health officials are still confident the province will reach its immunization goals by September.
"People have definitely cancelled more appointments now. In the summertime, it can be tough”, says Graham MacKenzie, a Baddeck pharmacy owner whose store is currently a vaccination clinic.
MacKenzie says for a while, he was seeing anywhere from 60 to 200 appointments a day, but bookings have dropped off in the past week and a half.
"Days that could hold appointments of 120 or more, we might get anywhere from six to twelve appointments”, MacKenzie says.
Tracey Barbrick is head of Nova Scotia's vaccine rollout. She says there are about 100,000 vacant appointments province-wide in the next two weeks.
"The most opportunity within the system is now. There's tonnes of vacant appointments”, Barbrick says.
“What we would like to see is a lot of those second dose people who are eligible, move their appointments up. We'd love to see them do that because we'd love to hit 75 per cent fully vaccinated before September."
Barbrick adds that at 63 per cent,Nova Scotia is leading the country in double-vaccinated residents. Meanwhile, more than 75 per cent have received the first dose.
She said the percentage of people who have been vaccinated is generally consistent across different provincial regions.
"So our first doses are 76 per cent, our second doses are 63 per cent, and about two per cent a day increase in second doses based on appointments”, Barbrick says.
Back in Baddeck, Graham MacKenzie says next week he has a good number of Pfizer appointments that are booked, though there are still plenty of openings.
He predicts the slowdown in bookings in his area will end soon.
"With the 15th of August and onward, most appointments are going to be reschedules. So I think we're going to see a change in this pattern”, MacKenzie says.
On Friday, the Nova Scotia Health Authority announced it is adding three new outreach vaccination clinics next week in communities North of Smokey. They say it's to offer a bit more accessibility to the vaccine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.