N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Province exceeds 40% mark for second doses, sees 1 new case

New Brunswick has hit another COVID-19 vaccine milestone today as the province heads toward the green phase of recoveryby the start of August.

More than 40 per cent of eligible New Brunswickershave now received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Overall, 279,688 eligible residents, or 40.3 per cent, have gotten a second jab, while first doses have remained stable at 78.4 per cent, or 543,297 people vaccinated.

Anyone over the age of 12 is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and anyone who has had one dose for 28 days can get a second.

New Brunswick is in phase two of the province's three phase return to green. In stage threethe mandatory order will end and all restrictions will be lifted.

To get to that stage 75 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers will have had to receive a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The province is hoping to reach that stage by Aug. 2.

Mobile clinics

To speed up vaccinations, the province announced several mobile clinics will take place this week.

The province is working with Extra-Mural and Ambulance New Brunswick to put on the clinics.

Six mobile clinics are scheduled for this week:

• Grande-Anse Club d'ge d'or de Grande-Anse, 61 de la Tourbe Ave., Tuesday, July 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• PaquetvilleCentre des loisirs de Paquetville, 1086 du Parc St., Wednesday, July 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saint AndrewsTown Hall parking lot, 212 Water St., Thursday, July 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• BathurstBowlarama, 2020 St. Peter Ave., Thursday, July 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Blacks HarbourFundy Arena, 6 Arena St., Friday, July 9, from9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• DieppeBowlarama, 476 Gauvin Rd., Saturday, July 10, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

People attending the mobile clinics are asked to bring their Medicare card, a signed consent form and a record of vaccination if receiving a second dose.

The clinics will be administering the Moderna vaccine.

One new case

Public Health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 in the province on Monday.

Zone 3, Fredericton area, 1 case

• One person 20 to 29 years old.

The case is related to travel.

There are 18 active cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick.

So far, there have been 2,338 cases of COVID-19 in the province with 2,273 recoveries and 46 deaths.

Four peopleare in hospital with COVID-19,none in intensive care.

On Sunday 461 COVID-19 tests were administered bringing the pandemic total to 365,059 tests.

There are no new public exposure notices. Previous public exposure notices can be found on thegovernment of New Brunswick's website.

Atlantic COVID roundup

Nova Scotiareported onenew caseof COVID-19 on Wednesday. The province has 45known active cases.

Newfoundland and Labradorconfirmed 13new cases and its active case count is 17.

Prince Edward Islandhas no new cases and one active case.

Too early to worry about unvaccinated

A behavioural science consultant says she isn't too concerned about the thousands of New Brunswickers who don't yethave their first dose of aCOVID-19 vaccine.

They'll come round, said Laura Scrimgeour of the Ottawa-area company Strategic Bias.

According to Public Health, about 200,000 eligible for vaccines don't yet have their first dose. Almost 544,000 have had their first shot and more than 279,600 their second.

"There aremore people who are getting vaccinated than who aren't by a lot," Scrimgeour said in an interview on Information Morning Fredericton.

"And humans are incredibly social creatures. We behave according to what we think other people want us to do and what we see other people doing to a massive degree. It's difficult to understate how powerful an influence that is on our behaviour."

Scrimgeoursaidit's natural for some people to be slow to get their vaccines, comparing them to people who file their taxes late. She said some people might have issues with child care, they feel invincible, or they're spending more time online looking at conspiracy theories.

Eventually, she said, those people will come around because getting a shot has become the social norm.

But since the vaccine holdouts in New Brunswick are concentrated among people20 to 40 years old, Scrimgeour suggested something is going on and is worth investigating.

Depending on why they aren't getting vaccinated, it might take targeted ads or mobile clinics to reach them, she said.

What to do if you have a symptom

People concerned they might have COVID-19 cantake a self-assessment test online.

Public Health says symptoms of the illness have included a fever above 38 C, a new or worsening cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, a new onset of fatigue, and difficulty breathing.

In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.

People with one of those symptoms should stay at home, call Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor, and follow instructions.