First wave of vaccine roll-out to be discussed at N.B. COVID-19 cabinet committee

Where New Brunswick’s first 1,950 doses of the coronavirus vaccine will be stored and who will receive them is due to be a topic of discussion at a Wednesday meeting of the COVID-19 cabinet committee.

Premier Blaine Higgs says he expects public health to provide an update on the logistics of administering the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

“So we say, OK, here’s where it’s going to be, and then here’s who we’re going to, what we’re recommending for patients to be vaccinated and how that rolls out,” Higgs told reporters Wednesday.

This comes after the Liberal official opposition spent most of question period on Tuesday asking Higgs and Health Minister Dorothy Shephard when the public would see a roll-out plan for the vaccines. Liberal interim leader Roger Melanson renewed his call on Wednesday.

“I mean, the vaccine is arriving in a few days in New Brunswick and, you know, I think New Brunswickers would expect, at a minimum, to know how it’s going to roll out in the province, who would be receiving it first, where could they go and get this vaccine,” he said.

Critics have raised logistical concerns over how to get the Pfizer vaccine to those most vulnerable to the virus.

1:47 Some MLAs call for legislature administration committee to meet in public

This particular vaccine must be stored at -70 C and is likely to be kept at a central facility, meaning the nearly 2,000 New Brunswickers getting the initial dose may have to travel in order to secure their shot.

However, Green Leader David Coon says the province needs to ensure the vaccine is being distributed across regions equitably and says there are solutions to the cold chain problem, such as using liquid nitrogen.

“We need to ensure that the measures put in place for storage of the vaccine and then to distribute it out to our regions ensure that no region is at a disadvantage because of decisions on how it’s being stored,” he said.

As for when the public could see a long-term plan for vaccination, Higgs said much of the work can’t be done until the federal government details how and when successive shipments will be doled out.

“You can’t do that until you know that you’re going to get this many doses every Monday or every two weeks to whatever, you’ve got to know the supply metrics first,” he said.

Higgs added that EMO director Greg MacCallum, who has been put in charge of the province’s COVID-19 vaccine plan, will likely have an update for the public in the new year.