Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, speaks during a COVID-19 update at the Manitoba legislature in Winnipeg on March 30, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)
WINNIPEG — Manitoba has expanded eligibility for the second booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, addressed the media on Friday, saying aged 50 and older is now eligible to receive their fourth vaccine dose, while Indigenous people 30 or older can receive the booster.
Immunocompromised people aged 18 and up are also eligible.
The province is also shortening the intervals to be eligible for booster doses. The first booster can now be given four months after the person’s primary vaccine series (usually two doses). The second booster dose can now be given four months after the first booster.
Roussin said vaccine eligibility may be further expanded in the fall.
He says COVID-19 statistics, such as the number of people being admitted to hospital and intensive care units, are trending in the right direction.
— With files from The Canadian Press
