Nova Scotia is expanding its vaccine program to include people 80 years or older who were born between May and August.
Booking for COVID-19 vaccines was only availbe for people in that age group with birth months between January and April. The province started using the birth month approach after high demand caused the booking website to crash and made phone lines inaccessible on the first day booking was open.
Those born between May and August, can book their vaccine using the online booking system or by calling 1-833-797-7772 (toll-free) starting Monday, March 15. People born between January and April can also still book an appointment.
"If you're uncertain about whether to get vaccinated, please remember what some people have lost and what this virus is capable of," said Premier Iain Rankin at a live briefing Friday.
Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said doctors' offices and pharmacies are getting overwhelmed with phone calls asking about the vaccine.
"Please stop calling or going to your local doctor's office or pharmacy," he said. "You cannot book your vaccine directly through them and you cannot just walk in."
Overall, booking for the 80 and older community clinics is "going well," said Rankin. Some appointments are still available for people born between January and April.
"Seniors are arriving early and excited to get their vaccines," he said. "Some have brought flowers for the immunizers."
He said he was grateful to the people who work at the clinics: some are back from retirement, or taking on the work on top of their jobs, or volunteering. In total more than 100 people have been trained to give the vaccine so far.
Additional support for tourism industry
On Friday, the provincial government announced an extension of the Tourism Accommodations Real Property Tax Rebate Program for hotels, motels, and inn operators.
"We know it's been a challenging year for tourism accommodations operators and we're here to help you," said Rankin.
The program's initial phase, which ended in December 2020, provided eligible businesses with a 25 per cent rebate on the payment of 2020-21 commercial property taxes. Just over 252 applicants were paid $6.7 million throught the program as of March 4, 2021.
Part two of the program will provide businesses with a 50 per cent rebate on payment of the first six months of their 2021-22 commercial property tax.
Businesses must meet the following criteria to qualify for the program:
- meet the definition of a roofed accommodation as set out in the Tourist Accommodation Registration Act
- be registered as a host under the act, have more than five rooms
- not be in arrears of property taxes or property tax installment payments
- have experienced a year-over-year revenue loss of at least 30 per cent from April 1 to Oct. 31, 2020.
Operators who received payments through the program's first phase will automatically qualify for the extra funding.
Moving our vaccine plan forward
Nova Scotia is continuing a pattern of low case numbers this week, as the province reports one new case of COVID-19 in the eastern zone.
The Department of Health and Wellness said the case is under investigation. The case is in the Guysborough and Antigonish community health network.
There are now 17 active cases in the province: 11 in the central health zone, four cases in the western zone, and one each in the eastern and northern zones.
With spring break starting next week, Strang asked people to continue following public health regulations, including keeping social circles small, no matter what they do.
So far, none of the active cases or investigations in the province are concerning, which is good news, said Strang.
"Low COVID activity means that we can place our main focus on the rollout of vaccines," he said.
The province continues its vaccine rollout, with close to 50,000 first doses given so far. About a third received their second dose. In total, 3,386 long-term care residents received their first dose in 48 long-term care homes. Of those, 1,948 received their second dose in 20 long-term care homes.
"We're nearing the limited supply phase where we primarily focused on health-care workers directly involved in COVID care and long-term care residents and staff," Strang said.
Based on the number of vaccines the province expects to get in the coming weeks, Strang said he expects we'll have robust supply and be able to vaccinate more of the public in early to mid-April.
Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 2,681 Nova Scotia tests on Thursday. Rapid testing sites in Spryfield, Bedford, and Upper Tantallon administered 1,074 tests between Friday March 5 and Thursday March 11.
Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 260,489 tests. There have been 577 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths.
Nebal Snan is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.
