More Nova Scotians can now book their COVID-19 booster dose.
The province has announced as of Wednesday, people as young as 50 are now eligible so long as it has been six months since their second shot.
Tim Houston says the goal is to get shots into the arms of the most vulnerable first.
“Here’s the reality,” Houston says. “By mid-January almost 640,000 Nova Scotians will tip over that six-month mark. They are not all there today, but over the next few weeks they will be.”
People who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine or the one-dose Janssen vaccine are still eligible to schedule a booster dose. All frontline healthcare workers and designated caregivers are also eligible. If you’re under the age of 30, it’s recommended you get the Pfizer vaccine.
Meantime, our province is working on supply issues with the federal government. Currently, we have 100,000 booster doses.
Houston believes the aged-based approach remains the best way to roll out those shots.
He says that way we can avoid a Hunger Games-type scenario until there are enough doses for everyone.
“We’re working with the federal government to increase our supply, but so is everyone else,” Houston says. “And to avoid the Hunger Games-type scenario here in our province, we want the most vulnerable to get their booster first.”
