The National Immunization Advisory Committee (NACI) recommends booster vaccinations this fall ahead of a possible future wave of COVID-19 in Canada.
The guide published Wednesday recommends that Canadians at higher risk for serious COVID-19 disease be offered a fall booster dose “regardless of the number of booster doses previously received.”
He says this should include people aged 65 and over, residents of long-term or residential care facilities and people aged 12 and over with an underlying illness that puts them at high risk for COVID- 19 hard.
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The recommendation also includes adults from indigenous, racialized and marginalized communities where infection can have disproportionate consequences, as well as accommodation for migrant workers, shelters, prisons and group homes.
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The NACI also recommends that reinforcements be offered to all other people between the ages of 12 and 64, regardless of how many doses of reinforcement they have previously received.
He says he will provide recommendations on the type of vaccine against COVID-19 that will be offered for this booster dose as evidence of appropriate vaccines becomes available.
The NACI notes that while the probability, timing and severity of a future wave of the pandemic are uncertain, an increase in cases is possible in late fall and winter, as people spend more time in the interior.
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Cases, deaths, and hospitalizations for COVID-19 have fallen sharply since the peak of the sixth wave earlier this year, but those numbers have plummeted over the past two weeks.
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There are currently about 3,000 patients in the hospital with COVID-19, including about 190 Canadians in intensive care, while the country still records an average of 18 deaths per day.
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Public health officials have called for reinforcements to counter the most transmissible variants and subvariants of COVID-19, including the BA.2 Omicron subvariant that fueled the sixth wave.
However, despite the fact that more than 80% of Canadians have received two required doses of vaccine, less than half have received their first booster, while only nine per cent have received four doses, according to public health data.
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Many provinces have expanded eligibility for a fourth dose of the vaccine this spring, reducing the age cut to include middle-aged people and younger indigenous residents.
Public health director Dr Theresa Tam predicted earlier this month that there would be “a significant campaign” to vaccinate more people by the end of the year before the colder seasons.
He noted that “many more people” should receive reinforcements, adding that Canadians should do their utmost to protect themselves even if certain measures, such as masks and additional doses of vaccines, are not recommended according to public health measures.
“The virus has not left the scene,” he told reporters at a news conference on June 17. “Keep circulating, going up and down.”
—With archives of the Canadian press
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