New Brunswick Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell announced today that people 18 and older may now schedule an appointment online to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine through Vitalité or Horizon health networks or by contacting a participating pharmacy.

“New Brunswick is setting and breaking records each week for the number of appointments booked and vaccines administered,” said Dr. Russell. “By the end of this week, at least 50 per cent of our population will have received at least one dose of the vaccine. This further expansion of eligibility to everyone 18 and older is good news, but we must continue to be cautious and vigilant as we deal with new variants of the virus.”

New Brunswick Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy said the province is working closely with Public Health the ensure the vaccine rollout for New Brunswickers age 12 and older goes smoothly. 

“The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development is currently collaborating with Public Health on a vaccine roll-out plan for those 12 and older, the details of which will be announced very soon,” said Minister Cardy. “Our goal is to make this process as easy as possible for families. By working together and getting vaccinated as soon as we can, we can help keep our schools healthy and safe as we get ready for a new year.”

There are 10 new cases of COVID-19 in the province: nine in Zone 3 (the Fredericton region) and one in Zone 6 (the Bathurst region). The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 2,083. Since yesterday, six people have recovered for a total of 1,919 recoveries. There have been 42 deaths, and the number of active cases is 121. Nine patients are hospitalized in total. Five patients are hospitalized in New Brunswick, including two in an intensive care unit. Four patients are hospitalized out of province, with one in an intensive care unit. Yesterday, 1,385 tests were conducted for a total of 316,499.