Do you need a COVID booster for your summer vacation? Experts weigh in

New COVID-19 cases have decreased in Canada – and so has the vaccination uptake. Here's why some experts recommend booster vaccines for those planning to travel this summer.

With summer officially kicking off in Canada this week, travel, weddings, BBQs and other social events are on the table. Should a COVID-19 booster be part of your summer holiday plans?

Experts who spoke to Global News say it’s a good time to get one if you haven’t already.

After more than three years of COVID-19, new cases have decreased or plateaued in Canada – and so has the vaccine uptake.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared in May that COVID-19 was no longer considered a global health emergency but cautioned that the virus still poses a threat.

Canada is in a “much better” place right now than before, yet COVID-19 is still a “significant contributor to hospitalization and death,” said Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease physician at Sinai Health System in Toronto.

And as the summer holiday period gets underway, it’s a “really good time” for Canadians to update their vaccine protection, especially if they’re travelling, when exposure to other people is highest, McGeer told Global News in an interview.

“If you’re planning to spend the summer travelling and you don’t want to spend three days with feeling miserable in some hospital somewhere, that’s a good reason to get your COVID booster,” she said.

While more than 80 per cent of the population has received a primary series – two or more mRNA vaccine doses – the booster uptake remains relatively low this year in the country.