Manitoba teens who are BIPOC, with underlying conditions eligible for 3rd COVID-19 vaccine
CBC
Manitoba teenagers who are Black, Indigenous or people of colour, those who live in congregate living facilities and those who have underlying health conditions can now receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The province is following the advice of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, which recommends a booster for kids age 12-17 who may be at risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes due to biological and social risk factors, as well as those who face systemic barriers to accessing health care.
"We know that we have a significant population of teens who fit the criteria, who are at high risk of severe outcomes and would benefit from being as protected as possible," said Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead of the vaccine implementation task force.
NACI recommends people in the age group wait six months between their second and third doses.
The province had already recommended that teens in this age group who are moderately to severely immunocompromised have three doses for their first series of immunizations with a fourth, booster dose afterwards.
Most teens who do not fit the specific criteria are not eligible for the third dose of the vaccine, because two doses keep the majority in that age group very well protected against hospitalization, ICU admission and death, Reimer said.
More to come
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Manitoba officials will provide an update on COVID-19 vaccination in the province this morning.
Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of Manitoba's vaccine task force, will hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. CT.
She will be joined by Dr. Marcia Anderson, public health lead of the Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Pandemic Response Coordination Team, and Dr. David Matear, health system co-lead with the Unified Health Sector Incident Command.
CBC News will live stream the news conference here, on CBC Gem and on Facebook.
The announcement comes as Manitoba plans to ease some gathering restrictions in the coming days, and as hospitals continue to grapple with record high COVID-19 hospitalizations.
As of Friday, 80 per cent of eligible Manitobans five and older had received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 41 per cent had received three.
