N.B. Expands COVID-19 Booster Eligibility To 18+

More New Brunswickers will soon be able to receive a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Starting Monday, all New Brunswickers 18 and older will be eligible to get a booster dose as long as five months have passed since their second dose.

Moderna will be offered to people 30 and over while Pfizer-BioNTech is reserved for those under 30.

“The federal government has told us that there will be a limited national supply of Pfizer until the spring,” Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said during a briefing on Friday.

“We have been advised to reserve our Pfizer supply for New Brunswickers under the age of 30 to reduce the incidents of adverse side effects in that age group.”

If you received Pfizer for your first two doses, Russell said you can have Moderna for your third dose, adding that both vaccines are “similar products made in the same fashion with the same level of effectiveness.”

Officials continue to urge vaccination

Friday’s announcement comes as health officials continued to urge residents to get vaccinated against the virus.

“It is urgent that every New Brunswicker become vaccinated against COVID and get their booster if eligible,” said Russell.

Russell said the COVID-19 pandemic, now driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant, poses a “grave threat” to the province’s health care system.

But, she said, New Brunswickers can help by getting vaccinated and signing up for a booster when they are eligible.

Russell said while we are seeing hundreds of breakthrough cases of COVID-19 every day, most of those who are vaccinated do not require hospitalization or admission to an intensive care unit.

“While they make up just a small slice of the overall population, the unvaccinated are requiring hospital care for COVID-19 well out of proportion to their numbers. Recently, we have been seeing younger, unvaccinated individuals under the age of 50 and 40 succumbing to the virus,” said Russell.

Since Aug. 1, unvaccinated New Brunswickers have been hospitalized for COVID-19 at a rate of 283.5 per 100,000 compared to 31.1 per 100,000 for those with at least two doses of a vaccine, she said.

In that same timeframe, unvaccinated residents have required ICU care at 35.9 per 100,000 compared to 7.2 per 100,000 for fully vaccinated.

Health care system will be ‘tested like never before’

As of Thursday, there were 63 people in New Brunswick hospital with COVID-19, including 19 in intensive care. Russell said as challenging as the current situation is, it would be “much worse” if we did not have vaccines.

Still, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said the province’s already fragile health care system will likely be tested “like never before” in the weeks to come.

“We expect that cases and hospitalizations will continue to rise, more health care workers will be off work because of COVID-19, and service reductions will be ongoing,” said Shephard.

Last week, the regional health authorities announced that they will only be providing emergency and urgent services, meaning all non-urgent and elective surgeries, procedures, and lab services will be postponed.

Shephard said the goal is to relocate health care staff to the areas of most need, including in-patient units, ICUs, emergency departments, COVID-19 assessment centres, and vaccination clinics.

The health authorities, along with Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick, are collaborating on a plan to support the health care system over the coming weeks, she said.

“We have entered a new stage in the pandemic. We recognize that we cannot keep cases of the Omicron virus contained, but we can all take actions to mitigate the impacts,” said Shephard.

“We need to limit our contacts, wear a well-fitted mask and physically distance from others. We need to get vaccinated and also important to get a booster when eligible.”

COVID-19 testing changes

Shephard also reiterated the changes made earlier this week to COVID-19 testing in the province.

PCR tests are now reserved for those at highest risk of being hospitalized, including those over the age of 50. Everyone else, including those who are symptomatic but under 50 and do not live in a vulnerable setting, will have to take rapid point-of-care tests (POCT).

But in order to get rapid tests through the Horizon or Vitalité health networks, you must now have COVID-19 symptoms and an appointment.

“The importance of the PCR test for these higher-risk groups is we will have your information,” said Shephard.

“The high-risk individuals 50+ who test positive for PCR in the community will get a health check call from Public Health and can connect individuals for additional supports if required. We want for you to receive the primary health care you need as soon as possible to avoid the potential for hospitalizations.”

Shephard acknowledged there has been some confusion since the “significant” changes went into effect.

“I also want to be clear that if you are isolating because of your symptoms, you are allowed to leave isolation for a test appointment or to receive medical attention if required,” she said.

The benefit of the new appointment model, said Shephard, is that it will ensure symptomatic New Brunswickers who are ineligible to receive a PCR test can get a rapid test in a timely manner.

“In the past couple of weeks, we saw that some distribution sites for rapid tests depleted their stocks ahead of schedule. It was also difficult to anticipate demand at each site,” said Shephard.

“Now, everyone will be able to access the test they need, confirm whether they are positive for COVID-19, and take the appropriate steps to protect others.”

Horizon Health provides status update

As of Friday, Horizon Health said it is treating 42 COVID-19 patients, including eight who are intensive care.

There are 24 patients at the Saint John Regional Hospital, eight at The Moncton Hospital, four at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital in Fredericton, five at the Miramichi Regional Hospital, and one at the Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville.

A total of 198 health care workers are currently in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.

That includes 112 in the Saint John health zone, 31 in the Moncton region, 33 in the Fredericton zone, and 12 in the Miramichi region.

This week, a total of 237 surgeries have been postponed, along with more than 6,600 lab, diagnostic, imaging and professional services appointments have been postponed.

Designated Support Person visits have been temporarily suspended in several hospital units due to “the implementation of outbreak control measures.”

The Moncton Hospital:
5100 – Family Practice and Geriatric Unit
4100 – Neurosciences and Surgical Unit

Miramichi Regional Hospital:
2 West – Medical Stepdown Unit
4 East – Alternate Level of Care and Palliative Unit

Saint John Regional Hospital:
3CS – Orthopedics/Urology
4BS – Neurosciences
5CS – Family Medicine
3AN – Obstetrical/Gynecological Unit
3CN – General Surgery

St. Joseph’s Hospital:
6th-floor Restorative Care Unit