As part of a provincial rollout, teens aged 12-17 will have the option to get a COVID-19 booster shot, starting on Friday, February 18.
The recommended interval between second and third doses for this age group is six months (168 days).
In January, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended the use of booster shots for youth who may be at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease due to biological or social risk factors.
Although the province is making booster shots available for youth, Lambton Medical Officer of Health Dr. Sudit Ranade said it's unknown at this time if the average teenager needs a booster shot as third doses for this age group have not yet been approved by Health Canada.
"If you've already had two doses and you're a healthy 12 to 17-year-old, you're well protected against being hospitalized so what's the additional benefit you get on top of that with the booster? We don't know," said Ranade. "If the regulator were to approve it for that indication, we would have some idea of what that evidence is, so right now it's really about personal choice and making it available but it's really challenging to say what the overall benefit will be in that population."
For any residents interested in getting a vaccine, Lambton Public Health (LPH) recommends booking an appointment through GetTheVaccine.ca. Residents can also go to select pharmacies and primary care providers.
"The demand has certainly plateaued or settled down from where it had been in January," said Ranade. "Now we're doing about 2,000 doses a week, just over 2,000 doses a week for the past few weeks."
During a teleconference Thursday afternoon, Ranade said clinic frequency will eventually begin to scale back. The reporting frequency will also gradually change, starting on February 23.
Ranade said further scale backs in regards to reporting can be expected.
"Similar to influenza, we don't even issue weekly reports on influenza, we issue quarterly reports. I'm not saying we're going to get there right away but certainly as the picture of COVID changes, we will continue to adjust our reporting strategy to make sure that the data we're presenting is meaningful and also that it relates to the level of urgency that we perceive in the community," he said.
Should efforts need to ramp up again, Ranade said the health unit is prepared to redeploy or reallocate COVID-19 resources in order to move into "surge capacity mode".
