Health Minister John Haggie had some breaking news for reporters outside the House of Assembly today.
According to the minister, health officials are considering an open vaccination call for everyone in Phase 2 of the rollout. That includes teachers, rotational workers, and others on the front lines of the pandemic.
Haggie says some of the more vulnerable citizens in Phase 2 have already received their first shots.
Haggie also announced that Pfizer shipments to the province will soon be doubled, with indications that the extra shipments will begin to arrive early next month. May 3 also happens to be the tentative date for the re-opening of the Atlantic Bubble.
Minister Haggie says the increased number of Pfizer doses should make up for the delayed delivery of other vaccines. The province’s vaccination timeline, he says, shouldn’t be altered by more than a couple of days.
Phase 2, according to the provincial government’s vaccination plan, includes:
- Adults 70 years of age and older, starting with those 80 years and older;
- Adults who identify as First Nations, Inuit or Métis;
- Staff, residents, and essential visitors at congregate living settings (shelters, group homes, transition houses, correctional facilities, and children or youth residential settings);
- Adults 60 to 69 years of age;
- Adults in marginalized populations where infection could have disproportionate consequences (e.g. people experiencing homelessness or with precarious housing arrangements);
- First responders (including career and volunteer firefighters, police officers, border services, and search and rescue crew);
- Frontline health care workers who were not immunized in Phase 1 and who may come into direct contact with patients (includes private health care workers);
- People ages 16 to 59 who are clinically extremely vulnerable (as defined in the chart on the next page and following consultation with their health care provider);
- People who are required to regularly travel in and out of the province for work, including truck drivers and other rotational workers; and
- Frontline essential workers who have direct contact with the public and cannot work from home during Alert Level 5.
