N.B. COVID-19 and flu vaccine plans coming soon, Health Department says

New Brunswick's fall COVID-19 and flu vaccination campaign is expected to start within days but the Department of Health has yet to announce its plans.

Last year, people could start booking appointments on Oct. 6, with vaccines available to be administered starting Oct. 16.

Department spokesperson Katelin Dean had no details to share late Monday but told CBC News more information would be available "soon," and invited a reporter to follow the provincial government's news page.

Pharmacies are preparing for a mid-October launch, said Andrew Drover, pharmacist owner of Harrisville Pharmacy in Moncton.

"That's a typical time frame," he said.

New Brunswick has the highest COVID-19 hazard index in the country right now, according to COVID-19 Resources Canada, which produces a weekly forecast, based on current infections and spread, health-care system impact and mortality.

The province is listed as "severe" for Sept. 28 to Oct. 11, with a score of 23.6. The national average is 16.3.

An estimated one in 18 New Brunswickers are infected, with between 42,300 and 48,300 weekly infections predicted, according to Tara Moriarty, lead of the group and an infectious disease researcher.

Across the country, about one in 38 people are currently infected, with an estimated 147,000 infections per day.

NACI recommends vaccine for 'essential service' providers

Health Canada recently approved updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna that target the KP.2 variant, one of the latest offshoots of Omicron. Health Canada has also approved an updated vaccine from Novavax that targets the earlier JN.1 strain, although none will be available in Canada this fall.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization, or NACI, has strongly recommended updated COVID-19 vaccinations starting this fall for people at increased risk of infection or severe disease.

That includes adults 65 or older, people who live in long-term care and other group settings, people with underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness, people from Indigenous and racialized communities, and people who are pregnant.

NACI also now includes "people who provide essential community services" among those considered at increased risk and strongly recommended for fall vaccination.

All other individuals aged six months or older "may" receive the vaccine, NACI recommended.

The Department of Health has not said whether it will follow NACI's guidance, or who it would consider "essential  community service" providers.

No more rapid tests for health-care workers

Horizon and Vitalité health networks have both run out of COVID-19 rapid tests for their employees, and the Department of Health did not respond to questions about when, or if, it will replenish their supplies.

Horizon's remaining inventory of point of care tests expired last month and was discarded, confirmed Merita MacMillan, the regional lead of infection prevention and control.

"We would note that processes are in place to manage employees experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness," she said. Horizon did not respond to a request for more information.

For inpatients, Horizon continues to use polymerase chain reaction, or PCR lab tests, MacMillan said.

Vitalité's rapid tests also expired last month, confirmed a spokesperson, who did not identify themselves, and directed questions about resupply to the province.

Vitalité has, however, implemented "comprehensive protocols" to protect both employees and patients from the transmission of COVID-19, according to the spokesperson. "These measures include symptom-based screening with PCR testing, appropriate treatment, mandatory mask-wearing, and isolation protocols for anyone diagnosed, whether that involves isolating at home or within our facilities," they said.

No plans to provide free rapid tests again

Nova Scotia has said it plans to start providing free rapid tests again this fall, but New Brunswick has no plans to do the same, according to the Department of Health spokesperson.

"At-home rapid tests were a useful tool in the early management of COVID-19; however, Public Health guidance has changed throughout the pandemic as the virus has evolved and as there are now multiple other viruses that circulate," Dean said in an emailed statement.

Testing for COVID-19 is no longer recommended and the province stopped providing free tests through its community-based distribution sites in June, Dean said.

While testing may be required for treatment or care in some cases, anyone with concerns should consult a primary care provider or contact Tele-Care 811 (gnb.ca) or eVisitNB to be assessed for lab-based polymerase chain reaction  testing, said Dean.

Rapid tests are also available for purchase online or at some community pharmacies, she added.

Increased demand for COVID rapid tests

Drover has seen an increased demand for rapid tests at his pharmacy in Moncton since mid-summer.

"Of course, they were free from the government until July," he noted. 

Drover estimates he has sold about 75 test kits in the past month alone, mostly to people 50 and older.

He carries kits containing one test for $5.99, plus HST, or two tests for $10.99, plus HST. "Usually people are just looking for … an immediate result, so they're not looking for large quantities," he said.

Drover said he has access to a steady supply and is confident in the quality of the tests.

John McNeil, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association, said cost and availability vary, but many pharmacies sell a four-pack of COVID rapid tests for about $25. "We recommend calling ahead to see if your pharmacy has any in stock," he said.

For people with respiratory symptoms who choose not to test and aren't sure whether they have COVID, influenza or respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, Drover said the most important thing is to "stay home to avoid spreading it around."

4 deaths, 5 youth under 19 hospitalized

Compared to the lowest point of the pandemic in Canada, New Brunswick's COVID infections, hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions and long COVID cases are all about 25 times higher, while deaths are about 21 times higher, according to COVID-19 Resources Canada.

Nationally, these key indicators are about 15 to 17 times higher than the lowest point, the data shows.

COVID-19 killed at least four more New Brunswickers between Sept. 8 and Sept. 21, according to the latest Respiratory Watch report. They were all aged 65 or older. Only people who die in hospital are counted as COVID deaths.

The latest deaths raise the pandemic death toll to at least 1,071.

A total of 120 people were hospitalized for or with the virus during those two weeks, well above the average of about 35 seen during those weeks in 2023-24 and 2022-23.

Among those hospitalized were two children under age four and three aged five to 19. Five people were aged 20 to 44, 18 were 45 to 64, and 92 were 65 or older.

Ten people required intensive care.

There were 326 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported during the two weeks. The positivity rate — or the percentage of lab tests performed that produced a positive result — was 18 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

Thirty-eight lab-confirmed COVID outbreaks were reported. Fourteen of them were in nursing homes and 24 in "other facilities."

A total of 170,829 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since Oct. 4, 2023.

Horizon Health Network is not reporting active COVID hospital admissions or ICU cases, but had nine health-care workers off the job, as of Sept. 28, after they tested positive for the virus, according to the COVID dashboard.

Nine outbreaks on Horizon hospital units were reported, as of Oct. 4: at the Moncton Hospital, the Saint John and Miramichi regional hospitals.

Vitalité Health Network has not updated its COVID report since April, but its outbreaks page lists two, as of Oct. 3: Stella-Maris-de-Kent Hospital's medical unit and Edmundston Regional Hospital's surgery unit.