Although there were no new cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick this weekend, low vaccination rates have raised some doubts that the province will reach its vaccination goal by August 2. On Sunday, 414 COVID-19 vaccines were administered, which is the lowest number since March. Oliver Dueck, a software developer based in Fredericton, said that, of 414 doses administered, 371 were second doses and 43 were first doses. On Saturday, 1,233 vaccines were administered, 227 being the first dose.
So far, 58.1 percent of New Brunswickers aged 12 or older are now fully vaccinated. Also, 80.4 percent of province residents have received at least one dose.
Dueck believes that the province will reach its vaccination goal two days late, on August 4. In order to end the state of emergency and lift restrictions, New Brunswick needs to reach the threshold of 75 percent.
Department of Health officials didn’t want to comment on the potential delay of reopening. Still, spokesperson Shawn Berry sent an email to the press, explaining that data from vaccination clinics can take up to 48 hours to be reported to Public Health. He wrote:
“This has been the case since we started the [vaccination] campaign. We encourage anyone eligible to book an appointment as soon as they can for their second dose.”
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell said that more vaccines are on the way and that there will be no shortage.
She added:
“We are not anticipating a shortage of this product, and we will continue to offer it and Moderna at our vaccination clinics. Even if you received a different vaccine as your first dose, you can still receive Moderna for your second dose due to the interchangeability of COVID-19 vaccines.”
