Province cuts vaccination interval from COVID infection to three months

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This article was published 30/11/2023 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In an effort to increase the number of Manitobans protecting themselves against COVID-19, the province is cutting the minimum interval between infection and vaccination in half, from six months to three.

There’s been a “significant drop” in COVID-vaccine uptake, chief medical officer Dr. Brent Roussin said Thursday.

As of the end of November, only about 15 per cent of eligible Manitobans had received the latest available booster shot.

The province wants more people to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine that targets the XBB strain of the Omicron variant.

Cutting the interval won’t affect a huge number of Manitobans, Roussin said, explaining the change is an effort to reduce vaccination barriers now that respiratory virus season is in full swing and the province is seeing an increase in both COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Cases of influenza and other respiratory viruses are also on the rise, leading to severe outcomes.

“We’ve seen that in a number of individuals, this is delaying their ability to get vaccinated, so we’re softening up that messaging at this point,” Roussin told a virtual news conference with Dr. Karen Gripp, emergency department medical director of the Children’s Hospital.

There’s been a significant increase in already-steady patient volumes at the children’s ER over the past week, Gripp said.

This week, the ER saw approximately 160 young patients per day compared with about 130 earlier in the month. More than a third of the patients, most of them younger than five years old, are arriving with respiratory virus symptoms, Gripp said, adding children that age are still developing their immunity.

The hospital is preparing to for an expected 190 to 200 daily ER visits and has started rolling out some contingency plans, including an increase in available bed space.

Other surge protocols, such as increasing capacity in the children’s ICU, have not yet been implemented, Gripp said.

She reminded parents and guardians that, in general, fever on its own, even a fever that lasts several days, isn’t dangerous and doesn’t need hospital treatment, but children who show signs of dehydration should receive urgent medical attention.

“As we enter this busy season, I do want to reassure parents and caregivers that if you come to the Children’s Hospital emergency department, you will get the care you need. The sickest patients are always seen first, so those with less-urgent concerns will wait longer,” she said, offering lower-acuity examples such as treatment for chronic conditions or broken bones.

Gripp and Roussin both urged the public to stay home when sick, keep sick kids out of school or daycare and limit their contact with high-risk individuals, including seniors, if they’ve recently been sick.

Roussin encouraged people to wear masks as an “extra layer” of protection, particularly heading into holiday gathering season.

“Be extra-cautious of those who are at increased risk of severe outcomes,” he said.

About 45 per cent of seniors over 65 years old have received their COVID boosters, and Roussin said he wants to encourage more uptake in that higher-risk age group.

“It’s definitely not too late to get vaccinated,” he said. “We encourage everyone to get out, and let’s get those vaccine numbers up.”

Roussin said annual flu shots are on track compared to last year. About 21 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received their flu shots thus far — about 296,000 doses.

The uptake in a typical flu season is about 25 or 26 per cent, he said, noting half of those over 65 got the flu shot this season (the high-dose flu shot for seniors is recommended) but the 30- to 50-year-old age group “tend to have fairly low seasonal uptake.”

There’s also relatively low flu shot uptake among children under five. Only about 10 per cent of that youngest age group has had a flu shot this season, a similar rate to last year.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended waiting six months between COVID boosters or six months post-infection for the best immune response, but noted there are no known safety risks to getting boosted after a recent COVID infection.

In its September guidelines ahead of Canada’s fall vaccine campaign, NACI suggested a shorter interval of three to six months could be followed.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca