Silence from N.B. on COVID-19 fall boosters 'disappointing,' epidemiologist says
Province continues to review recommendations from national advisory board
New Brunswick has yet to announce its plans for COVID-19 boosters, two weeks after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization strongly recommended Canadians get another shot this fall if it's been at least six months since their last dose or infection.
The next round of vaccines are expected to be designed to target the more recent, immune-evasive Omicron family of sub-lineages that are still circulating globally, such as XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said on July 11.
The Department of Health continues to review recommendations from NACI, and "will communicate any COVID-19 vaccine updates as it has in the past," spokesperson Sean Hatchard told CBC News.
Infection control epidemiologist Colin Furness calls the lack of information from the province "disappointing."
He said it would be "foolish" not to get a fall booster, given that it will be formulated for the Omicron XBB variant.
For those who are at high risk of severe illness, "the reasoning is simple," said Furness, referring to the increased protection the shot offers.
For those who perceive themselves to be at low risk, Furness urged them to consider that they could contract the virus and transmit it to someone else who could become ill, disabled or die.
Furness, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, also noted that even a mild case of the disease could have a significant long-term impact.
"Vascular scarring, blood clots leading to stroke, pancreas damage leading to diabetes, all of these complications can result from a 'mild case' in some people," he said.
People who decide they would rather get the disease than the vaccine are playing a game of Russian roulette, according to Furness. "I hope they all 'win,' but the data is pretty clear that there are a lot of people who lose."
New Brunswick reported 15 more deaths from COVID-19 in Tuesday's monthly report, raising the pandemic death toll to 928.
Nine people were newly admitted to hospital because of the virus between June 25 and July 22, the COVIDWatch report shows.
A total of 108 new cases of COVID were confirmed through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) lab tests, with a positivity rate of 5.4 per cent, while an additional 59 people self-reported testing positive on a rapid test.
Of the positive samples sent for sequencing, all of them were XBB.
Booster 'particularly important' for certain groups
Fall immunization with a dose of a new vaccine formulation is "particularly important" for people at increased risk of COVID-19 infection or severe disease, according to NACI. This includes:
- Adults 65 years and older.
- Long-term care and congregate living residents.
- People with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk of severe disease.
- People who are pregnant.
- First Nations, Métis and Inuit people.
- People from racialized and other equity-deserving communities.
- People who provide essential community services.
An additional dose is also "particularly important" for anyone who has not yet been infected and has protection from vaccination alone, according to the advisory body.
Increased protection will help reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the health-care system while other respiratory viruses, such as the flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), are circulating in the fall and winter of the 2023-2024 respiratory virus season, NACI added.
Access to boosters limited since July 1
Since July 1, New Brunswick has limited COVID-19 vaccines to certain groups until the beginning of the fall respiratory season, the province's website reveals.
People aged 65 and older, and people aged 18 and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised may "request a booster especially if [they're] unsure of being infected with COVID-19 disease in the past and did not receive a spring booster," it says. At least five months must have passed since their last dose or most recent COVID infection, whichever occurred most recently.
New residents of long-term care homes who did not receive a spring booster also have the option to receive a booster dose, if it's been at least five months since their last dose or infection, according to the website.
Department of Health officials have previously said those aged five and older who received a booster dose last fall are considered up to date, and no further doses are currently recommended.
Primary series vaccinations continue to be available to New Brunswickers aged six months and older, if they have not yet received any doses or need to restart the series, the website says.
COVID-19 vaccination rates in the province have remained largely unchanged for months, according to figures provided by the department. Only 500 people rolled up their sleeves for a COVID-19 shot in the past month, the figures show.
The breakdown includes:
- First dose — 91.1 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers, unchanged.
- Second dose — 85.9 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers, unchanged.
- First booster — 54.9 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers, up from 54.8 per cent.
- Second booster — 30.7 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers, unchanged.
The department has repeatedly said vaccination is the best defence against COVID-19 by reducing the risk of serious complication and hospitalization.
The World Health Organization (WHO) downgraded the COVID-19 pandemic in May from a "global health emergency" to "an established and ongoing health issue."