COVID-19 vaccine booster shots in high demand in Manitoba

Dozens of people looking for a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot line up outside the vaccine clinic at Shoppers Drug Mart on River Avenue in Winnipeg on Dec. 16, 2021. (Source: Josh Crabb/ CTV News Winnipeg)

Demand for a booster dose of vaccine to help protect people against COVID-19 and the new Omicron variant of concern has some Manitobans scrambling to find appointments and walk-in clinics with shots in stock.

Dozens of people lined up outside the Shoppers Drug Mart in Osborne Village Thursday morning in hopes of getting a walk-in appointment.

“A friend told me about Shoppers (Drug Mart) so I called and couldn’t get through the first time, and then called back and they said they had a shortage,” said Suzanne Querel. “My girlfriend’s husband called again and they said today would be a good day.”

The good news for Querel, the pharmacy did indeed have doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which she wanted, in stock. The bad news, the lineup just to get inside the clinic wrapped around the pharmacy with the temperature sitting at around -15 degrees Celsius.

“Didn’t realize we’d have to stand in line for an hour and a half,” Querel laughed. “We weren’t expecting to have these sub-zero temperatures considering how warm it was yesterday.”

Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead of Manitoba’s Vaccine Implementation Task Force, said the province has hundreds of pharmacy and physician partners giving the shots. She said work is underway to get more vaccine doses into both doctors’ offices and pharmacies.

“So there’s certainly going to be some variability as to the hours that they have available and whether or not they have doses available at any given time,” said Reimer. “If they don’t have enough stock, we can send them more stock.”

Doctors Manitoba, an organization representing 4,000 physicians in the province, said in an emailed statement there is a lot of demand and that it expects more vaccine will be delivered to doctors’ offices next week.

“Physicians have seen a surge in interest in COVID-19 booster shots, which is very encouraging news,” Doctors Manitoba said. “Physicians recommend boosters as soon as you are eligible to help maintain your protection. Dozens of doctors' offices across Manitoba are offering booster shots, as well as first and second doses.”

To find doses, the group said you can call your doctor, or head to manitobavaccine.ca

Reimer said the province is also working to expand staffing and appointments at large, government-run vaccine clinics. She said Manitobans should continue to check the protectmb.ca website to find pharmacies and medical clinics with vaccine in stock and to use the online booking site to make an appointment at a super-site. Doses are also available at urban Indigenous vaccine clinics, which are aimed at making immunizations more accessible to people who may face barriers getting vaccinated.

Manitoba is recommending anyone who’s 60 or older and anyone 18 or older and lives in a First Nations community who received their second dose on or before July 10 to get their third dose.

For everyone else, a six-month interval between second and third doses continues to be recommended.

Ontario recently expanded eligibility for COVID-19 booster shots to anyone 18 or older and shortened the interval from six months to three months.

Reimer said Manitoba is constantly looking at the timeline but so far no change has been made.

“We know the booster works, it’s best if you wait six to eight months after your second dose,” Reimer said. “But we also know holidays are coming up and with Omicron already here in the province, speed at getting that boost as soon as possible is also important and so we’re trying to very carefully find the best combination of speed in the immune response along with the best long-term immune response.”

“If at some point that risk becomes great enough that faster benefit is greater than the benefit of waiting and getting long-term protection than we’ll also change our recommendations here.”

As of Dec. 15, Manitoba has administered more than 2.2 million doses of vaccine. 83.9 per cent of eligible Manitobans have received at least one dose and 78.1 per cent have received two doses.