10 New Cases, Kids 12+ Can Be Vaccinated

Health officials in New Brunswick have expanded COVID-19 vaccination rollout to include children aged 12 and older.

At a media briefing Wednesday, Education Minister Dominic Cardy made the announcement with Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Russell.

Cardy says education officials have worked hard to support Public Health and their plans to vaccinate children.

The education department won’t vaccinate children in schools because the Pfizer vaccine, the only one approved for persons aged 12 and up, needs to be stored at very cold temperatures, Cardy said.

There is also limited staff to administer the shot and it’s difficult to transport.

Instead, Cardy is encouraging parents who haven’t been vaccinated yet to get their shot at the same time as their child.

“Show our children they have a chance to play an important role in getting our province back to pre-pandemic life,” said Cardy.

Parents can expect more information on booking vaccines from their local school district in the coming days and weeks.

Meanwhile, Russell announced 10 new cases of COVID on Wednesday, including four new cases in Zone 3.

One of the new cases includes a case of community transmission in the Fredericton region, which officials believe is a different strain of the virus.

There are 134 active cases in New Brunswick, including five individuals hospitalized in the province.

Cardy also confirmed a third case of COVID-19 at Priestman Street Elementary School in Fredericton where students and staff are isolating.

Despite the increased number of cases, there are no cases of in-school transmission.

Cardy says there is a lot to be grateful for, and he is proud of the staff who continue to work alongside Public Health in the last few weeks of the school year.

“We know that school is incredibly important for our students, so we want to make sure that we can minimize the disruption to the day to day lives of our students,” said Cardy, adding 48 schools around New Brunswick only missed 28 days of class this year.

More than half of New Brunswick’s population has been vaccinated. Russell says Public Health expects to wrap up second doses at long-term homes this week.

“I’m sure this will be a relief to residents and their families,” said Russell.

Health officials say they will soon begin offering second doses to residents in the weeks ahead.

But even as the province continues vaccination rollout, the virus won’t be irradiated.

“That threat will not disappear entirely, but we will be able to live with it,” said Russell. “The key to our success will be our level of vaccination moving forward.”

“Let’s never again take for granted some of the freedoms that we’ve had to have restricted,” said Cardy.

Aaron Sousa is a reporter for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.