First doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia received its first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, officials have confirmed.

Health officials say they received 3,700 doses of the vaccine.

Details on how and when the province plans to distribute the new doses are still being finalized, Dan Harrison, the director of communications for the department of health and wellness, told Global News.

“As supply levels increase, and with the arrival of Moderna and it’s less stringent storage requirements, we expect the weekly number of people getting vaccination to greatly increase in January.”

The neighbouring province of New Brunswick received its first doses of the Moderna vaccine on Wednesday.

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New Brunswick received 2,400 doses and announced that it will begin administering the first doses during the first full week of January.

The first 1,200 doses of the vaccine in New Brunswick will be administered to long-term care residents at nursing homes throughout the province.

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The remaining 1,200 doses will be held back to be administered to the same long-term care residents 28 days later.

Another vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech is already being administered in the province.

Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be kept at -70 C and therefore must be kept in specific freezers, the Moderna vaccine can be stored in regular freezers.