Fall vaccination campaign across N.L. to begin Oct. 16

Following Health Canada's approval of a fall COVID-19 vaccine, Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer of health says the province will begin its fall vaccination campaign in mid-October.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, speaking at a media briefing Tuesday, said cases of respiratory viruses tend to surge in the autumn, as the days get shorter and colder and people spend more time indoors, including children returning to school.

"Like last year, this cold and flu season we expect to see both influenza and COVID-19 circulating at the same time, in addition to other respiratory viruses such as RSV," said Fitzgerald.

Everyone who's eligible which is everyone six months old and up should get vaccinated against the flu, said Fitzgerald, especially anyone at high risk for a severe flu infection:

• Children between six months and five years old.
• Adults 65 years old and up.
• Residents of seniors' homes.
• People with medical conditions, including cardiac conditions and diabetes, that put them at higher risk of severe infection.
• Pregnant people.
• People who identify as First Nation, Inuit orMtis.

On Sept. 12, Health Canada approved the updated Moderna COVID-19vaccine targeting the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant for anyone six months of age and up.

"This new formulation is expected to provide better immune response against currently circulating variants compared to vaccines previously in youth," said Fitzgerald, who said people should get vaccinated if it has been at least six months since their last vaccine or COVID-19 infection, whichever is more recent.

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Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says latest versions of COVID vaccines are recommended

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Newfoundland and Labradors chief medical officer of health says while hospitalizations from COVID are not nearly as high as the peak of the pandemic, officials are cautious about new infections.

Fitzgerald especially encouraged anyone at high risk for severe disease to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including:

• Adults 65 years old and up.
• Residents of long-term care and seniors' homes
• People with underlying medical conditions, including cancer and heart disease, that put them at higher risk of COVID-19 infection.
• People who are pregant.
• People who identify as First Nation, Inuit or Mtis.

Vaccination clinics for both COVID-19 and the flu will begin Oct. 16, she said, with appointments available online starting Oct. 10 at the currently dormant website timefortheshot.ca, and through physicians and pharmacists. Both vaccines can be safely taken at the same time, said Fitzgerald.

Immunity wanes, says Fitzgerald, so vaccination is still important

People who have weathered increasingly milder bouts of coronavirus might not feel an urgency to get a fall booster, acknowledged Fitzgerald, but COVID-19 is still relatively new, and having a relatively mild infection doesn't mean future cases won't be severe, she said.

"What we do know is that the immunity wanes over time, so if it has been quite a while since you had either COVID or the vaccine, you know, you could have more severe disease this time around," she said.

"So there's no way to really know right now what will happen in that regard."

COVID-19 hospitalizations have slightly increased in the last couple of weeks, she said, but it's nothing to be alarmed about.

"[It's] not unexpected, really, given what we know about respiratory viruses as the weather gets colder and kids go back to school and people start to move inside and that sort of thing," she said. "That's being seen, really, everywhere across the country."

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