More than 90% of New Brunswickers over 75 have had 1st vaccine dose

More than 90 per cent of New Brunswickers in some of the older age groups have already had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and the younger cohorts may not be far behind, based on the record number of doses administered in the past week and the steadily increasingly supply of doses from the federal government.

"We are encouraged by the uptake we are seeing in every category as people recognize the value of vaccination in protecting themselves," Department of Health spokesperson Shawn Berry said in an emailed statement.

More than 47 per cent of the eligible population aged 12 and over, or 330,100 people, have now had at least one shot.

It's not surprising the numbers are highest among the older groups. People who are 85 and older were able to start booking two months ago for appointments that started on March 17, said Berry.

People 40-49 and 30-39 only became eligible to book an appointment last week, while only some children aged 12 to 15 — those who have a complex medical condition or two or more chronic conditions — became eligible the week prior.

"So, we would expect a higher rate for those that have had more opportunity to get vaccinated," he said.

The figures break down as follows:

• 90.6 per cent of those aged 85 and older (17,113 of 18,886 eligible people)
• 92.3 per cent of those aged 80-84 (17,982 of 19,475)
• 91.1 per cent of those aged 75-79 (27,756 of 30,462)
• 88.1 per cent of those aged 70-74 (41,391 of 46,962)
• 80.9 per cent of those aged 65-69 (44,877 of 55,477)
• 70.6 per cent of those aged 60-64 (43,443 of 61,514)
• 52.5 per cent of those aged 50-59 (61,648 of 117,344)
• 34.1 per cent of those aged 40-49 (34,044 of 99,730)
• 21.4 per cent of those aged 30-39 (19,525 of 91,358)
• 16.0 per cent of those aged 20-29 (14,022 of 87,471)
• 3.5 per cent of those aged 12-19 (2,254 of 64,707)

Why herd immunity targets are changing

4 years ago

Duration 0:50

Canada's initial herd immunity target for the COVID-19 pandemic was 'probably around 65 per cent,' says Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health. That number is now higher for a number of reasons, she says.

A total of 48,216 vaccines were administered over the past week, said Berry. That beats the previous seven-day record of 45,506.

Last Friday, the province set a new single-day record for COVID-19 vaccinations, with 11,535 doses administered, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell said Tuesday.

"Throughout the campaign, we have been vaccinating based on the doses we have received," said Berry. "What we receive one week is typically reflected in number of doses administered in the next week."

More than 31,000 doses are expected to be administered at clinics being held this week by the Horizon and Vitalité health networks, while nearly 30,000 doses are being delivered to pharmacies this week for their clinics.

In addition, second-dose clinics are planned for 48 long-term care facilities this week in the Fredericton region, Zones 3 and Bathurst region, Zone 6, with 1,145 doses expected to be administered, said Berry.

There are also 330 doses expected to be administered at vaccination clinics on the Elsipogtog and Kingsclear First Nations.

New Brunswick is scheduled to receive another 75,750 vaccine doses this week — 40,950 of Pfizer-BioNTech, 21,300 of Moderna, and 13,500 of AstraZeneca-Oxford.

Premier Blaine Higgs has said the province's vaccination campaign, which aims to have first doses administered to everyone who's eligible by July 1, is running about two to three weeks ahead of schedule.

Everyone who is eligible is expected to have their second shot by September.

About 75 per cent of province's total population of more than 781,000 has to be inoculated with two doses to protect others who aren't immunized, also known as herd immunity, according to experts.

Eleven new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Monday, including one travel-related case of a resident who is isolating outside the province.

There are now 118 active cases of the respiratory disease.