Manitoba changing eligibility for fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose
Manitoba's top doctor says health officials are changing the eligibility for a second COVID-19 booster vaccine.
Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said anyone over the age of 50 is now eligible to receive their fourth vaccine dose, while Indigenous people 30 or older can receive the booster.
Roussin also noted the interval between doses is being decreased as well, dropping from six months to four months.
"Vaccination is the best way to protect ourselves. So please, if you haven't received your first, second or third dose, please get that as soon as you are eligible for, as soon as you become eligible for it," said Roussin.
This comes as Roussin said COVID-19 levels are stabilizing in Manitoba, according to recently collected data.
"This wave has been predominately a BA.2 wave. Almost all of our sequencing has been BA.2," said Roussin.
He noted there have been downward trends in both hospital and ICU admissions, noting those stats have peaked already in Manitoba.
Roussin also addressed the number of deaths that have been reported recently in the province, 16 in the week of May 8 to 14.
"There are a number of factors at play. One is just the nature of Omicron, the way we see such widespread infection," he said. "The other thing is just the nature of that Public Health isn't investigating each of these cases. So just like in (the) hospital, where we see you know, 75 per cent of people admitted there with COVID, aren’t there for COVID. So it's very likely we are seeing things that are incidentally related."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.