N.B. closing COVID-19 vaccine clinics this month; doses available at pharmacies

N.B.'s top doctor urges more to get booster dose N.B.'s top doctor says it is important more people get a booster dose with only about half of those eligible having received it to date.

New Brunswick will be closing its COVID-19 vaccination clinics run by the regional health authorities by the end of March, but residents will still be able to get vaccine doses through pharmacies in the province.

“The end of March, the regional health authority mass clinics, the big group clinics that we’ve seen, will be stopping,” says Jake Reid, the executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association.

“There will still be some public health offices that will be offering some COVID shots, especially for those younger age groups. Those pediatric groups we’re trying to reach.”

Reid says, at last count, there were 195 pharmacies out of 233 in the province that were actively administering COVID-19 vaccines to patients.

“Because of the numbers that we’re seeing, the demand that we’re seeing, that will not be a significant issue,” says Reid. “We have lots of inventory, we still have lots of inventory. We have lots of pharmacies offering those COVID vaccinations, and they can accommodate those numbers.”

New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Jennifer Russell, says vaccination numbers in the province are not where she would like them to be.

As of Tuesday, 93 per cent of the eligible population had received a first dose, 87.5 per cent had received a second dose and 51 per cent had received a booster shot.

“If you’re looking at the dashboard every week, is everyone doing what they can to keep those numbers down?” asks Russell.

“So, that’s why we have the messaging we do around encouraging people to get vaccinated and get boosted. It’s not too late, we still have lots of availability in clinics and after April 1, it will be mostly pharmacies.”

COVID-19 data in New Brunswick can be found on the province's online dashboard.