N.B. reports 3 COVID-19 deaths, rise in hospitalizations, cases, sick health-care workers

Three New Brunswickers died from COVID-19 in the past week, and the number of hospitalizations, new confirmed cases and sick health-care workers have all increased, the latest figures show.

This represents a departure from previous weeks when there was a decreasing trend in the numbers, said Dr. Yves Léger, the province's acting chief medical officer of health.

"I think it's something that we'll have to watch closely in the coming weeks," he said.

"We know that things can change from week to week, so we'll have to see for subsequent weeks if this … becomes a trend."

An increase in COVID activity is, however, anticipated later in the fall and winter months, Léger stressed.

"National data are showing an uptick in cases," Public Health noted in its weekly COVIDWatch report, released Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday because of the holiday weekend.

Maine cases are also showing a "slow and slight upward trend;" currently at a 276 seven-day average, which is higher than the seven-day average demonstrated over the last few months, the report states.

This illustrates the importance of New Brunswickers continuing to pay close attention to COVID activity, especially if they're travelling, said Léger.

Deaths, hospitalizations

The three deaths were all people 90 or older and raise the pandemic death toll to 493.

Twenty-seven people were newly admitted to hospital because of COVID-19 between Oct. 2 to Oct. 8, including a child under 10, according to the province's COVIDWatch report. That's up from 19 the previous week.

The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations is now 25, compared to 20.

The number of people currently hospitalized because of COVID also increased to 27 from 19, including three in intensive care, up from one, according to the province's report.

Meanwhile, the two regional health authorities, which include in their weekly reports people admitted to hospital because of COVID-19 as well as those initially admitted for another reason and later test positive for the virus, say there are 113 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, as of Saturday — a 24 per cent increase from the 91 patients reported a week ago.

Seven patients require intensive care, up from six.

The Horizon Health Network has seen a 40 per cent increase in its number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past week at 87, compared to 62, according to its COVID-19 dashboard. That includes seven people in intensive care, an increase of two.

Vitalité has 26 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, down from 29, with none in intensive care, down from one, its dashboard shows.

Of the 87 hospitalized Horizon patients, more than half — 54 — are in the Saint John region, Zone 2, the weekly COVID-19 dashboard shows.

The distribution of the other patients includes:

• Zone 1, Moncton region — 5
• Zone 3, Fredericton region — 17
• Zone 7, Miramichi region  — 11

Nine of Vitalité's 26 patients are at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, which is listed at 105 per cent capacity.

Bathurst's Chaleur Regional Hospital has six patients and is at 95 per cent capacity, the Edmundston Regional Hospital has six of the patients and is at 92 per cent capacity, the Campbellton Regional Hospital has three patients and is at 88 per cent capacity, and Tracadie Hospital has the other two patients, and is at 116 per cent capacity.

A total of 1,161 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported, up from 1,053 in the previous report.

That includes 631 confirmed through a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) lab test, up from 596, and 530 people who self-reported testing positive on a rapid test, up from 457.

The seven-day moving average of PCR-confirmed cases is 91, up from 86.

The Moncton region, Zone 1, continues to have the largest share of the 1,161 new cases, at 326, followed by the Fredericton region, Zone 3, at 302, and the Saint John region, Zone 2, at 282.

The Edmundston region, Zone 4, has 90 cases, the Bathurst region, Zone 6, 82 cases, the Miramichi region, 52 cases, and the Campbellton region, 27 cases.

There are now 843 active cases of COVID across the province, based on PCR-confirmed cases alone.

Of the most recent random samples sent for sequencing, 90 per cent were the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.5, and 10 per cent were the Omicron subvariant BA.4.

New Brunswick has had 78,687 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with 77,351 of those now considered resolved.

Sick staff, hospital outbreaks

Vitalité has seen a 71 per cent jump in its number of health-care workers off the job because of the virus. Forty-eight staff have tested positive for COVID-19, up from 28 a week ago. Horizon has 78 infected health-care workers, up from 77.

There are still 11 Horizon COVID-19 hospital unit outbreaks, including three in the Moncton region, five in the Saint John region, Zone 2, two in the Fredericton region, and one in the Miramichi region. No other details are provided.

Vitalité has eight COVID-19 outbreak units, including a new one at the Edmundston Regional Hospital's surgical unit 2.

Six of the outbreaks are at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, including the geriatric unit (3A), the rehabilitation unit (3F), the general surgical unit (4A), the psychiatry unit (4B), the surgical unit (orthopedic, plastic, and otorhinolaryngology), 4E, and the nephrology unit (4F).

The outbreak on the care unit at the Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent also continues.

Availability of Pfizer bivalent booster unclear

As of Tuesday, New Brunswickers 18 and older are now eligible to get the Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine booster if five months have passed since their last dose or infection, and annual flu shots are also now available.

Moderna's Spikevax is currently the only so-called bivalent COVID-19 booster available in New Brunswick.

Last Friday, Health Canada approved Pfizer's new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine, which targets the original virus as well as the strains now most common in New Brunswick and across the country — the highly transmissible Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

New Brunswick Public Health officials are still looking at the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) guidance on the updated version of the Pfizer-BioNTech Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine and how to incorporate it into the province's immunization program, said Léger.

"As soon as decisions are made on that, we'll certainly make sure to communicate that," he said.

Health Canada authorized the Pfizer bivalent for use as a booster dose in people 12 years of age and older.

Asked whether New Bruswickers will get to choose between the Pfizer or Moderna bivalent booster, Department of Health spokesperson Adam Bowie replied: "It is important to note that both bivalent boosters are considered next-generation vaccines, which will provide enhanced protection against Omicron subvariants, and are both effective at broadening the immune system's response.

"While New Brunswickers may eventually be able to choose which shot they receive, they are considered similar, so it's best to accept whatever one is most readily available."

Moderna's Spikevax targets both the original coronavirus and the Omicron variant BA.1 that emerged late last year and drove the largest wave of infection and hospitalization in the pandemic.

More than 9,500 doses of the bivalent have been administered since it became available in the province a month ago, said Léger.

A total of 2,980 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the past week the COVIDWatch report shows. The majority of those — 2,363 — were second booster doses. Some 22.5 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have now received their second booster, up from 22.1 per cent.

The first booster rate stands at 53.8 per cent, up from 53.7 per cent; 85.5 per cent have received two doses, up from 85.4 per cent; and 90.6 per cent have received their first dose, up from 90.5 per cent.

"Certainly we like to see those numbers always higher than they are," said Léger. "It's always something that we want to see go up.

"But I'm encouraged that, you know, we're seeing uptake in our bivalent vaccines going up from week to week."

Third booster rates are not provided in the COVIDWatch report. As of Oct. 4, it stood at 0.9 per cent.

Public Health is shifting its focus away from counting how many booster shots a person has received. Instead, it's encouraging everyone who's eligible to get a fall booster, regardless of how many vaccines they've had.