Immune-compromised Islander told she’s not eligible for COVID vaccine booster – but she is – CBC

Eligibility question a misunderstanding, says Chief Public Health Office

Apr 14, 2022

A 62-year-old Prince Edward Islander, taking prescribed immune suppressants, was worried when she was told last week she was not eligible to receive a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot.

Last week, the Chief Public Health Office opened up second booster shots for Islanders who are 70 or older, people living in long-term care and community care homes and Indigenous Islanders who are 18 years or older.

North Rustico resident Heather Stubbings doesn’t fall into any of those categories. She does, however, have severe rheumatoid arthritis and has been taking immune-suppressing drugs to treat that condition for 14 years.

When she called the vaccine information line to try to book an appointment, she was told the only immune-suppressed Islanders eligible for a vaccine were cancer patients.

“I wasn’t very happy,” Stubbings told Island Morning host Laura Chapin.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-second-booster-immune-compromised-1.6419497