The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) announced on Tuesday that Canadians should receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster in the autumn if it has been at least six months since their last dose or COVID-19 infection.
“Booster doses in the fall will be updated formulations to target more recent, immune-evasive SARS-CoV-2 variants,” according to a statement from the NACI.
“Individuals vaccinated with the updated formulation are anticipated to have a stronger immune response against these variants compared to those who received current vaccines,” it stated.
NACI maintained its strong recommendation that all individuals five years of age and older who have not yet received a primary two-dose series of an mRNA vaccine should be immunized.
It also issued a “discretionary recommendation” that unvaccinated children aged six months to five years receive the two-dose primary series of an mRNA vaccine.
NACI stated that the bivalent Omicron-containing mRNA vaccines can be administered to individuals receiving their first two-dose vaccination series.
Vaccination this autumn is “particularly important for those at increased risk of COVID-19 infection or severe disease,” according to a statement released by the NACI.
It was stated that these vulnerable groups include people 65 and older, residents of long-term care homes or other group living settings, people with underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, members of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities, racialized individuals, and community service providers.
The Canadian mRNA vaccines are manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Although mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are “preferred,” the NACI recommends offering Novavax’s Nuvaxovid as a booster to individuals 18 and older who are “unwilling or unable to receive an mRNA vaccine.”
