Want a COVID-19 booster? Experts say most Canadians should wait for updated shots – CBC

Vulnerable groups could benefit from more frequent boosting than broader public

Aug 25, 2023

It’s been close to a year since Edwina Thomas last had a COVID-19 vaccine, and in a couple of weeks, she’ll be back to her job as a school librarian right while infection rates are rising again.

The 59-year-old Dartmouth, N.S., resident wants another booster shot — but said she was told she’s not eligible for another round yet, and doesn’t know when updated vaccines will arrive.

Now she feels stuck in limbo.

“I don’t want to get sick, I don’t want to pass it on to older family members that are immune-compromised, I don’t want the children at school to be sick, I don’t want it to be my fault,” she told CBC News.

“I think it’s just going to go through us like a tidal wave.”

While the size of Canada’s apparent fall COVID wave won’t be clear for some time, there are early signals that cases are spiking — as drug makers such as Pfizer and Moderna are still waiting for Health Canada and other regulatory bodies to greenlight their updated shots. Those boosters, once approved, will likely start rolling out by early October, officials say.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/fall-wave-booster-shot-updated-1.6947033