Nova Scotia COVID-19 vaccine rollout ahead of schedule, booster shots moved up
Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 vaccination rollout is ahead of schedule and should see second doses being administered two to four weeks earlier than originally planned, officials said Tuesday. The first people due for their booster shots — health-care workers and those aged 80 and older — will be able to move ahead their appointments beginning in early June. Chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang told reporters that if enough people move up their second dose appointments, the province could reach the required minimum level to get population immunity by early September. “This is in our hands, so when the opportunity comes, get your appointment booked,” Strang urged. “The sooner we get population immunity, the sooner we will be able to start our new normal.”
Under the province’s accelerated plan, someone who received their first dose of vaccine on March 22 and is due for a second dose on July 5 will now be able to reschedule their second appointment for as early as the week of June 20. The plan will also allow people to book wherever appointments are available, meaning they won’t be required to return to the location where they received their first shot. For now the plan is based on the availability of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, because Moderna shipments have been unreliable. Officials added that people who received Moderna as a first shot can safely switch to Pfizer for their second. The province is still waiting for more information from federal officials on whether the more than 58,000 Nova Scotians who received AstraZeneca can have one of the mRNA vaccines — Pfizer or Moderna — for a second dose. Meanwhile, appointments for an initial shot were opened across the province Tuesday to people 20 years of age and older, and officials said vaccine appointments would likely be opened to those 12 and up by the end of the week.
Premier Iain Rankin said more details about a “gradual” reopening plan for the province will be provided during a briefing on Friday. During yesterday’s briefing he said “the fact that we can even talk about a reopening is amazing given where we were just one month ago.” Nova Scotia reported 54 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the active total to 846. Of those, 35 cases are in the central zone, 15 in the eastern zone, three in the northern zone and one in the western zone. Seventy-two people are in hospital, including 20 in intensive care. (With files from The Canadian Press & CBC)
Nova Scotia Health Public Health is advising of potential exposure to COVID-19 at locations in the Central, Eastern Zone and Northern Zones – which includes Walmart in Truro. Public Health says that exposure may have occurred at the business between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday. Anyone who worked at or visited Walmart during that period should book a COVID-19 test, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. The province says self-isolation is only required if you have COVID-19 symptoms. Public Health is also encouraging Nova Scotians to get out and get tested after low weekend turnout. All potential exposure notifications in the province are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures
Westville Canada Day Celebrations “Postponed”
For the second year in a row, there will be no Canada Day Celebrations in Westville due to ongoing pandemic restrictions that continue to prevent large gatherings and festivals. Volunteers are now setting their sights on Labour Day weekend for a “one time unique event”, noting the celebrations are instead being “postponed” rather than cancelled this year. The hope being that they will be able to have at minimum, a modified celebration this September with as many of the featured events as possible. Deputy Chief of Westville Fire Dept. Tom Steele says to keep an eye on the festival’s Facebook page for updates through the summer.
Nova Scotia needs major affordable housing push: CCPA report
A new report says Nova Scotia needs a major push to create publicly funded, non-profit housing to make up for decades of lost ground. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in Nova Scotia argues in the report published on Tuesday that measures to date haven’t addressed the needs of over 30,000 Nova Scotian households living in unaffordable housing. It says Ottawa largely abandoned the field of supported housing, social housing and affordable housing in the 1990s, and Nova Scotia was not prepared to fill the gap. The 95 recommendations in the document include a call for the province to build or acquire over 33,000 affordable, non-profit and co-operative housing units over a decade. The proposed plan would require a capital investment of $531 million each year for 10 years, and it suggests a series of tax changes to pay for the investment. (The Canadian Press)
Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library Forms Accessibility Advisory Committee
The Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library has formed an Accessibility Advisory Committee to identify and eliminate barriers to public library services experienced by persons with disabilities. The majority of the committee members are volunteers with disabilities, bringing invaluable “first voice” knowledge and experience from the wider community. Already, the committee has identified transportation as a significant barrier for persons experiencing disabilities and will be working on ways to reduce this barrier.
A new online survey shows more than half of Canadians report feeling anxious about returning to what life was like before the COVID-19 pandemic. The poll by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies shows 52 per cent of people reported feeling some level of anxiety, with those aged 18 to 24 showing the highest levels of unease at 68 per cent. “Maybe some of it is related to work, maybe some of it is related to, ‘When we actually go back to normal, will it be safe? Will I feel comfortable around somebody not wearing a mask anymore?’” said Christian Bourque, executive vice-president of the polling and marketing research firm Leger. For others, he said, it could come down to thinking like, “Oh God, I have to invite the in-laws again.” As for why young adults report feeling more anxious than other age groups about a return to normal, Bourque said it could be related to them being “the anxiety generation.” Close to half of younger Canadians generally feel they suffer from some form of anxiety, he said, and so have more awareness of it and a greater willingness to name it than older residents. Plus, for some in their 20s, their social life could be what makes them anxious. “Potentially for younger Canadians who maybe have felt some form of isolation during the pandemic are probably weary about how will it be, how do I go back to the way things were,” said Bourque. (The Canadian Press)
