New Brunswick’s fall COVID-19 and influenza vaccination campaign is set to begin in the coming days, but the Ministry of Health has not yet announced plans.
Last year, reservations began on October 6th, and vaccinations became available from October 16th.
Ministry spokeswoman Caitlin Dean had no details to share late Monday, but told CBC News more information would be available “soon” and encouraged reporters to follow the provincial government’s news page.
Andrew Drover, pharmacist owner of Harrisville Pharmacy in Moncton, said his pharmacy is preparing for a mid-October launch.
“That’s the typical time frame,” he said.
According to COVID-19 Resources Canada, New Brunswick currently has the highest COVID-19 risk index in the country. The company creates weekly forecasts based on current infections and spread, impact on healthcare systems and mortality rates.
New Brunswick has the worst COVID-19 risk index in Canada at 23.6. (Canadian COVID-19 Resources)
The state is designated as “severe” with a score of 23.6 from Sept. 28 to Oct. 11. The national average is 16.3.
Tara Moriarty, the group’s leader and an infectious disease researcher, estimates that one in 18 New Brunswick residents is infected, with between 42,300 and 48,300 people infected each week. It is predicted that this will happen.
Approximately 1 in 38 people in the country is currently infected, and the number of infected people per day is estimated at 147,000.
NACI recommends vaccination for ‘essential’ service providers
Health Canada recently approved the latest COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that target the KP.2 variant, one of Omicron’s newest derivatives. Health Canada has also approved an updated vaccine from Novavax that targets the earlier JN.1 strain, but none will be available in Canada this fall.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has strongly recommended that people at high risk of infection and severe illness renew their coronavirus vaccinations starting this fall.
This includes adults over 65, people living in long-term care and other congregate settings, people with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness, people from Indigenous and racialized communities, and people who are pregnant. Included.
It’s unclear who New Brunswick will consider essential community service providers if it follows NACI’s fall vaccination recommendations. (Hayley Ryan/CBC)
NACI now includes “essential community service workers” among those considered high-risk and highly recommended for vaccination in the fall.
NACI recommended that all other people over 6 months of age “may” receive the vaccine.
The Department of Health has not said whether it will follow NACI’s guidance or who will be considered an “essential community service” provider.
No more rapid testing for Horizon healthcare workers
Horizon Health has a shortage of rapid COVID-19 tests for its employees, Melita McMillan, regional director of infection prevention and control, acknowledged.
The remaining stock of point-of-care tests in the health network expired last month and was discarded.
“We would like to note that we have processes in place to manage employees who are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness,” Mr McMillan said.
Health Canada does not recommend the use of expired rapid COVID-19 tests. (CBC)
Horizon did not respond to requests for further information. McMillan said Horizon continues to perform polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, testing on hospitalized patients.
Vitalite did not respond to requests for information on the status of employee testing.
There are no plans to offer free rapid testing again.
Nova Scotia has said it plans to start offering free rapid tests as early as this fall, but New Brunswick has no similar plans, according to a Department of Health spokesperson.
“Rapid home testing was a useful tool in the initial management of COVID-19. However, as the virus has evolved and there are now multiple other viruses circulating, public health guidance has changed. That has changed during the pandemic,” Dean said in the paper. Statement sent via email.
Testing for COVID-19 is no longer recommended, Dean said, and the state stopped offering free testing through community-based distribution sites in June.
You can screen for COVID-19 in under 15 minutes using a rapid at-home test. The photo on the left is a positive result, and the photo on the right is a negative result. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)
In some cases, testing may be necessary for treatment and care, but anyone with concerns should speak to their primary care provider or call Tele-Care 811 (gnb.ca) or eVisitNB to request a lab appointment. The dean said he would need to be evaluated for a polymerase chain reaction-based test.
Rapid tests can also be purchased online and at some local pharmacies, she added.
Increased demand for rapid COVID-19 tests
Drover has noticed an increase in demand for rapid tests at his Moncton pharmacy since mid-summer.
“Of course, they were free from the government until July,” he pointed out.
Drover estimates he has sold about 75 test kits in the last month alone, most to people over 50.
Andrew Drover, pharmacist owner of Harrisville Pharmacy in Moncton, said whether or not they get tested for COVID-19, people who are sick should stay home to prevent the spread. (Alexandre Silverman/CBC)
He carries kits containing one test for $5.99 plus HST or kits containing two tests for $10.99 plus HST. “Typically people are just looking for immediate results, not a lot of stuff,” he says.
Drover said they have a steady supply and are confident in the quality of the tests.
For people who have respiratory symptoms, choose not to get tested, and are unsure whether they have COVID-19, influenza, or respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, the most important thing to do is to “Stay home to avoid spreading the virus,” he said.
4 people dead, 5 young people under 19 hospitalized
Compared to the lowest point of the pandemic in Canada, New Brunswick’s number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and long COVID-19 infections have increased, according to COVID-19 Resources Canada. The number of infected people is about 25 times higher, and the number of deaths is about 21 times higher.
Nationally, these key indicators are about 15 to 17 times higher than their lowest scores, according to the data.
At least four more New Brunswickers died from Sept. 8 to Sept. 21 due to COVID-19, according to the latest respiratory surveillance report. They were all over 65 years old. Only people who die in hospital are counted as coronavirus deaths.
The latest death increases the death toll from the pandemic to at least 1,071.
A total of 120 people were hospitalized with the virus or infection in the past two weeks, significantly higher than the average of about 35 for the same weeks in 2023-24 and 2022-23.
The hospitalized patients include two children under the age of four, three people between the ages of five and 19, five people between the ages of 20 and 44, 18 between the ages of 45 and 64, and people over 65. There were 92 people.
Ten people required intensive care.
At least five New Brunswickers have died from COVID-19 since the respiratory phase began on Aug. 25, and 213 people have contracted or been hospitalized with the virus, including Seven people were under the age of 19. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
In two weeks, 326 new coronavirus cases were reported. The positivity rate, or the percentage of laboratory tests performed that resulted in a positive result, was 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively.
Thirty-eight laboratory-confirmed cases of coronavirus infection were reported. Of these, 14 were in nursing homes and 24 were in “other facilities.”
A total of 170,829 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since October 4, 2023.
Horizon Health Network does not report hospitalizations or ICU cases due to the coronavirus, but its coronavirus dashboard shows nine health care workers have been tested for the virus as of Sept. 28. He tested positive and was absent from work.
As of Oct. 4, nine outbreaks have been reported in Horizon Hospital units: Moncton Hospital, St. John’s Hospital, and Miramichi Regional Hospital.
Vitalité Health Network hasn’t updated its COVID-19 report since April, but as of October 3, its outbreak page includes medical units at Stella Maris de Kent Hospital and surgical units at Edmundston Regional Hospital. Two are listed.
