No decision has been made yet on whether the NLVaxPass will be updated to require a third shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald spoke to the issue during Friday’s unscheduled live COVID briefing.

She says discussions are ongoing as to whether to make the third, or booster dose, mandatory as part of the NLVaxPass. But she says a lot will depend on emerging evidence on the effectiveness of the booster in the coming weeks, especially when it comes to severe disease.

Meanwhile, Fitzgerald acknowledged that the day could come when health care workers here who have tested positive could remain on the job.

She says while the province “isn’t there yet,” she won’t say that it won’t come to that, noting it already has in other provinces and NL could soon find itself “in the same boat.”