The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is providing insight into the decision to change the interval between an individual’s second dose of COVID-19 vaccine and the booster shot.
On Friday the province announced that the number of weeks between the second COVID vaccine and the booster shot has been shortened to 22.
While some other provinces, such as Saskatchewan, have an interval as short as three months, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says the 22 weeks offers better protection.
She says a longer interval between doses gives a more robust response from the vaccine, which can translate to a longer term protection.
Premier Andrew Furey echoed Dr. Fitzgerald, saying this is what works best for the province’s genealogy.
He calls it a “sweet spot” as the small frame shift will allow an additional 170,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to get vaccinated by the end of the year, while still providing a fairly long-term for protection.