Canada's chief health officer calls for getting third dose of COVID-19 vaccine

Ottawa [Canada], March 19 (ANI/Xinhua): Canada's chief public health officer on Friday called for more people to get a booster to make the public health system more resilient as the country began to lift COVID-19 restriction measures, such as limits on social gatherings and mask mandates.
Speaking at a press conference, Theresa Tam said that COVID-19 policies may soon shift from "an emphasis on requirements to recommendations" and that it's critically important that more people, especially those 50 years of age or older, get a booster dose.
"We're in a period of uncertainty where the virus is still undergoing evolution, so getting up to date with vaccines and wearing a mask is really a good idea," Tam said, adding that it would be difficult to expand vaccine mandates to cover the third dose because eligibility for a third shot varies and people with a previous Omicron infection have been told to wait up to three months between a positive test result and getting the third dose.
According to a statement from her office on Friday, recent studies indicated that an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster dose could enhance the overall immune response, which can provide longer-lasting protection and possibly better effectiveness against variants.
Over 5.2 million eligible Canadians need one or more doses to complete their primary series and many others are eligible to get a booster dose to help improve the protection that may have decreased since their second dose and to provide even better protection against severe illness from Omicron, the statement said.
According to data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada, as of March 17, over 17.6 million third doses had been administered. National data as of March 13 indicated that over 83 per cent of seniors aged 70 or older, 61 per cent of 50-59 years of age and 74 per cent of 60-69-year-olds had received an additional dose.
The data indicated that over 81 per cent of the total population have been fully vaccinated. Age-specific vaccine coverage data, as of March 13, 2022, showed that over 88 per cent of people 12 years or older had at least one dose and over 84 per cent were fully vaccinated, while among children aged 5-11, 57 per cent had at least one dose.
Health Canada on Thursday authorized the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine (50 mcg) for children 6-11 years of age. Following authorization, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization released recommendations for the use of the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine in this age group. (ANI/Xinhua)