The National Immunization Advisory Committee (NACI) recommends booster vaccines this fall ahead of a possible future wave of COVID-19 in Canada.
The guide, issued Wednesday, recommends that Canadians at increased risk of serious COVID-19 disease be offered an autumn booster dose “regardless of the number of booster doses received before.”
It says that this should include people aged 65 and over, residents of long-term care or housing and people aged 12 and over with a basic medical condition that puts them at high risk for severe COVID-19.
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The recommendation also includes adults in local, racial and marginalized communities, where the infection can have disproportionate consequences, as well as housing for migrant workers, shelters, correctional facilities and group homes.
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NACI also recommends that boosters be available to all others aged 12 to 64, regardless of how many booster doses they have received before.
It states that it will provide recommendations on the type of COVID-19 vaccine that will be offered for this booster dose when evidence of appropriate vaccines becomes available.
NACI notes that while the probability, timing and severity of a future pandemic wave are uncertain, there may be an increase in cases in late fall and winter as people spend more time indoors.
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COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations have fallen sharply since the peak of the sixth wave earlier this year, but those numbers have fallen in recent weeks.
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There are currently about 3,000 patients in hospital with COVID-19, including about 190 Canadians in intensive care, while the country still has an average of 18 deaths a day.
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Public health officials have called on amplifiers to counter more transferable variants and sub-variants of COVID-19, including the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant, which powered the sixth wave.
However, although more than 80% of Canadians received the required two doses of vaccine, less than half received their first booster dose, while only nine percent received four doses, according to public health data.
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Many provinces have extended eligibility for a fourth dose of the vaccine this spring, removing the age limit to include middle-aged and younger locals.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Tam predicted earlier this month that there would be a “significant campaign” to vaccinate more people later this year before the colder seasons.
She noted that “many more people” should receive boosters, adding that Canadians should do everything possible to protect themselves, even if certain measures, such as masks and additional doses of vaccine, are not recommended by public health measures. .
“The virus has not left the scene,” she told reporters at a news conference on June 17. “It continues to circulate, it will go up and down.”
– With files from Canadian Press
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