New Brunswick’s fall COVID-19 and flu vaccination campaign is expected to start within days but the Department of Health has yet to announce its plans.
Last year, people could start booking appointments on Oct. 6, with vaccines available to be administered starting Oct. 16.
Department spokesperson Katelin Dean had no details to share late Monday but told CBC News more information would be available “soon,” and invited a reporter to follow the provincial government’s news page.
Pharmacies are preparing for a mid-October launch, said Andrew Drover, pharmacist owner of Harrisville Pharmacy in Moncton.
“That’s a typical time frame,” he said.
New Brunswick has the highest COVID-19 hazard index in the country right now, according to COVID-19 Resources Canada, which produces a weekly forecast, based on current infections and spread, health-care system impact and mortality.
New Brunswick has the worst COVID-19 hazard index in Canada at 23.6. (COVID-19 Resources Canada)
The province is listed as “severe” for Sept. 28 to Oct. 11, with a score of 23.6. The national average is 16.3.
An estimated one in 18 New Brunswickers are infected, with between 42,300 and 48,300 weekly infections predicted, according to Tara Moriarty, lead of the group and an infectious disease researcher.
Across the country, about one in 38 people are currently infected, with an estimated 147,000 infections per day.
NACI recommends vaccine for ‘essential service’ providers
Health Canada recently approved updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that target the KP.2 variant,
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