According to the March 29th Government of New Brunswick press release, the following information was shared:

Vaccination clinics for staff at high schools

Vaccination clinics for today and Tuesday, March 30, have been postponed. More detailed information about the rescheduled clinic dates and registration will be sent directly to the appropriate school staff.

The following schools will therefore be open on Tuesday, March 30:

• Dalhousie Regional High School

• Sugarloaf Senior High School in Campbellton

• École Aux Quatre Vents in Dalhousie

• Polyvalente Roland-Pépin in Campbellton

• Bathurst High School

• École Secondaire Népisiguit in Bathurst

Clinics using AstraZeneca vaccine postponed

Following an announcement that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is recommending the AstraZeneca not be used at this time for people under 55, the provincial government has paused giving the vaccine to those in that age group but will continue using it for those over 55 as there have not been any serious effects noted. Planned clinics using that vaccine have been postponed and will be rescheduled. The committee made the recommendation following concerns in Europe due to rare cases of people under 55 having blood clots up to 20 days after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. Of the 20 million doses of the vaccine administered in Europe, there have been 25 incidents of this happening or about one in a million. Given the rarity of serious side effects and the fact that COVID-19 has killed 15,000 Canadians so far, with one in 100 who get COVID-19 requiring intensive care and that one in five Canadians hospitalized with COVID-19 develop blood clots, the risk from the vaccine is very low.

No serious adverse events have been reported in Canada associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine or from any of the other COVID-19 vaccines. Anyone who experiences severe, persistent symptoms following any vaccine, should go to the nearest emergency department immediately. Further information for those who have received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine is available online.

“While we have seen no cause for concern, we are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution pending further guidance from Health Canada,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health.