As new variants emerge, fourth COVID-19 shots should be more accessible, experts say
Global News
In Nova Scotia, Alberta and British Columbia -- like in Newfoundland and Labrador -- residents must be over 69 to be eligible for a fourth shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Keith Muise, a 41-year-old man in Newfoundland, says it’s absurd he can’t access a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine despite the emergence of new variants — and two public health experts agree with him.
Muise said he would sign up for a fourth shot at the first availability, but he lives in Stephenville, a town in western Newfoundland and Labrador, which is one of four provinces still limiting second booster shots to those aged 70 or older.
The province’s eligibility rules, however, are in line with the current recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization. Quebec, meanwhile, is offering fourth doses to anyone over 17.
“I want as much protection as I can get,” Muise said in a recent interview, adding that he’s also worried about his mother-in-law, who is 69 and has underlying health conditions.
“Why is she sitting around waiting for this booster?” he asked. “I don’t want her to have less protection for the sake of, you know, a bureaucracy-type decision.”
Colin Furness, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana school of public health and Brenda Wilson, a professor of community health at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador’s medical school, agree with Muise. They say it’s time to allow widespread access to fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines across Canada.
“There’s a lot of really good reasons why people should be getting vaccinated, and governments should be supporting that,” Furness said in a recent interview. “I see no reason to be holding back. I’m in Ontario; I’m 54 and I’m not eligible for a fourth dose — that’s stupid.”
Ontario offers second boosters to those in the general public who are 60 and older. Prince Edward Island also offers fourth shots to those 60 and older, while New Brunswick and Saskatchewan offer them to residents over 49.
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