Starting next week, some Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will be able to get Moderna’s new Bivalent vaccine, and Public Health is already looking at how they can expand eligibility. Yesterday, the General Medical Director of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald has revealed the province’s plans for a fall/winter COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The province expects the first 63,000 doses of the vaccine later this month, with more to follow. Initially, this vaccine will be reserved for people in certain high-risk groups, but Dr. Fitzgerald says they’re already looking at potentially expanding eligibility — but that depends on how much supply the province has. He says it’s hard to gauge what the uptake will be at this stage. They want to see initial uptake first, and in the coming weeks they may have more information on extended eligibility. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald says it’s too early to tell whether such fall/winter vaccine campaigns will become the norm going forward. He says that because immunity wanes over time, it appears that annual campaigns may be the way to go. But he says they’re still learning about what the long-term strategy for COVID might need to be.
