(Toronto) The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is expected to release guidance on fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in early April, as public health indicators grow more concerning across Canada.
Posted at 4:02 p.m.
A spokeswoman for the Public Health Agency of Canada said Thursday that the agency plans to release NACI’s advice on fourth doses for “elderly populations at higher risk of severe disease” in the coming days.
NACI has previously recommended that people who are “moderately to severely immunocompromised” receive a fourth dose of the vaccine six months after receiving their third injection.
The committee says data on the fourth dose is currently limited, but immunocompromised people are at higher risk of both severe consequences from COVID-19 and diminished protection over time.
Earlier this week, US regulators approved a fourth dose for Americans 50 and older if it has been at least four months since their last vaccination.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the measure the go-ahead on Tuesday, and the Centers for Disease Control later recommended the additional injection as an option, but did not urged eligible people to rush to make an appointment.
The issue of additional boosters has become more pressing for some due to concerning public health indicators.
Hospitalizations have started to rise in some areas and sewage trends suggest so are the cases, after many provinces dropped their vaccination passports and mask-wearing requirements this month.
Quebec — which this week began offering fourth doses to people over the age of 80, immunocompromised people and residents of long-term care homes — posted 1,238 hospitalizations from the virus on Thursday.
Health Minister Christian Dubé said parts of Quebec that were spared when the highly contagious Omicron variant tore the country apart are now being hit hard by what he called the sixth wave of the pandemic.
Montreal, for example, has about 208 cases per 100,000 residents. On the other hand, the North Shore has 750 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Still, Dubé said the province has no plans to delay lifting its mask-wearing requirements — a move currently slated for mid-April — or reintroduce other public health measures.
Meanwhile, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott told lawmakers Thursday that she expects to receive guidance from NACI shortly.
“We are working on the booster doses and we are also looking at whether a fourth dose is necessary, an additional booster. We await the opinion of the NACI […] on which age group should receive the fourth dose, if needed,” she said.
“We are actively moving forward on this file and are pursuing our plan across the province of Ontario. »
Ontario reported 807 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 on Thursday, up from 661 a week earlier.