COVID-19 booster shots available for those 12 and older in Nunavut

COVID-19 booster shots are now available to every Nunavummiut aged 12 and older who got their second dose at least six months ago, Nunavut's chief public health officer said Friday.

"The booster dose will help increase immunity to COVID-19, as recent evidence shows that vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 decreases over time," said Dr. Michael Patterson in a news release.

The release stated the Canadian National Advisory Committee on Immunizations recommends people get booster shots to extend the vaccine's efficacy.

"The booster will help protect against serious illness or death, help curb the rate of transmission, and increase the protection against more infectious COVID-19 variants, such as the Delta variant," said the release.

Nunavummiut can make appointments at their local health centres to get the booster shot. In Iqaluit, boosters are available at Iqaluit Public Health.

According to the government of Nunavut's website, there is currently no active COVID-19 case in the territory. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 674 cases. Of those, 670 have recovered and four people have died.

Wearing a mask continues to be mandatory across the territory.

The measure to make boosters available follows similar action taken in N.W.T. where booster shots are available to everyone 18 and over since Oct. 28. In Yukon, booster shots have been available to residents 50 and over in three communities since Nov. 1, and will be made available to that age group in the territory's other communities within six weeks.