Thousands of unvaccinated students head back to school, province has no new plan to boost rates – CBC
Some other jurisdictions have taken innovative approaches, such as targeting youth through gaming
Sep 07, 2021
New Brunswick students head back to school today, resuming in-person classes, with thousands of them still unvaccinated against COVID-19, and a fourth wave driven by the highly transmissible delta variant looming.
Only about 60 per cent of eligible youth are fully vaccinated, New Brunswick’s overall vaccination rates have been slow to budge since the province moved to the green phase of recovery with no restrictions, and the government has no new plans to boost rates.
In other jurisdictions, some innovative approaches have included targeting youth through gaming, going door-to-door to provide information and answer any questions, holding a back-to-school vaccination clinic at a mall, and offering cash incentives or lotteries that award prizes to people who get vaccinated.
New Brunswick health officials are “strongly encouraging anyone who is unvaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help the province battle the next wave of COIVID-19,” said Department of Health spokesperson Gail Harding.
