Get another Covid-19 booster in the fall, Canada’s immunization panel recommends

Canadians should get another Covid-19 vaccine booster in the fall if it’s been at least six months since their last dose or Covid-19 infection, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) said on June 11.

“Booster doses in the fall will be formulations updated to target more recent, immune-evasive SARSCoV-2 variants,” the NACI statement said.

“Individuals vaccinated with the updated formulation are expected to benefit from a better immune response against these variants compared to current vaccines,” it said.

Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have started the process to get the new formulations of their mRNA Covid-19 vaccines approved by Health Canada, the department said in an email to The Canadian Press.

“This regulatory review has not yet been completed,” Health Canada said. “More information on this vaccine, including the authorized age groups, will be available in the coming months.”

NACI continued to strongly recommend that anyone five years of age and older who hasn’t yet been vaccinated should be immunized with a primary two-dose series of an mRNA vaccine.