The province of New Brunswick plans to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to children aged five to 11 as soon as they receive the vaccines specially made for children.
Health Canada announced on Friday that it has approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children aged five to 11.
In a release Friday, New Brunswick said the first doses of the pediatric vaccine — which are smaller and packaged differently than adult doses — will arrive next week.
“With the approval of the pediatric vaccine now in place, we are encouraging New Brunswickers to start having family conversations about how vaccination works and how it protects the health and well-being of our families, friends and classmates,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, in the release.
The province says the process for pediatric vaccinations is similar to the one for adults. It said community clinics and participating pharmacies will help with administering the vaccines and details will be available next week.
“Today’s approval means we are one step closer to further protecting our children and our communities,” said Health Minister Dorothy Shephard in the release.
“To support parents, guardians and families, we will be supplying information and resources on vaccine safety and availability to help people make an informed decision. This will be done in the coming days.”
New isolation measures in place
As of 6 p.m. Friday, new province-wide isolation measures will be put in place to curb household transmission of COVID-19.
Everyone — including people who are fully vaccinated — must now self-isolate for 14 days if someone from their household tests positive for COVID-19.
Under the new rules, people who are fully vaccinated can get a PCR test on their fifth day and leave self-isolation if it’s negative. A negative PCR test will also be required on the 10th day.
Those who violate the self-isolation rules can face fines between $480 and $20,400.
Also Friday, the province is lifting circuit breaker measures in Zones 1 and 7 as of 6 p.m.
New cases
New Brunswick reported 90 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, 57 of which are contacts of previously confirmed cases. With 49 recoveries, there are now 607 active cases.
There are 28 people in hospital, including 16 in intensive care. The province continues to say that people who are unvaccinated are more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19.
The province says 87.7 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 93.3 per cent have received their first dose.
The 45 new cases in Zone 1 (Moncton region) are as follows:
- a person 19 and under;
- three people 20-29;
- 13 people 30-39;
- eight people 40-49;
- nine people 50-59;
- eight people 60-69; and
- three people 70-79.
Thirty-four cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases and 11 cases are under investigation.
The 21 new cases in Zone 2 (Saint John region) are as follows:
- seven people 19 and under;
- a person 20-29;
- two people 30-39;
- a person 40-49;
- two people 50-59;
- five people 60-69;
- two people 70-79; and
- a person 90 and over.
Fifteen cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases and six cases are under investigation.
The 11 new cases in Zone 3 (Fredericton region) are as follows:
- three people 19 and under;
- a person 20-29;
- four people 30-39;
- two people 40-49; and
- a person 50-59.
Nine cases are under investigation and two cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases.
The two new cases in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) are as follows:
- a person 30-39; and
- a person 50-59.
Both cases are under investigation
The 11 new cases in Zone 7 (Miramichi region) are as follows:
- three people 19 and under;
- a person 20-29;
- five people 30-39; and
- two people 70-79.
Six cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases and five cases are under investigation.
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