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    • Getting a COVID-19 booster dose should top Canadians' fall to-do list, says health minister

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    Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says Canada is lagging behind other countries when it comes to booster dose uptake, and is imploring those who haven’t received a third dose to do so ahead of what may be a "challenging" fall.

    "Over the next weeks as our children return to school, or we return to the office, making an appointment for a booster dose should be at the top of our to-do lists," Duclos said on Thursday.

    The federal push comes on the heels of Health Canada announcing the authorization of the country's first variant-targeting COVID-19 booster shot, with the first delivery of 780,000 doses arriving on Friday and more than 10 million expected by the end of September.

    Duclos said that while Canada led other G7 countries when it came to two-dose vaccination, less than 60 per cent of adult Canadians have received a third dose, putting us behind all other G7 countries, except for the United States.

    According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), 49.5 per cent of the total population have received their primary series as well as at least one additional dose, while just 12.4 per cent of the population have received a primary series

    Comparing vaccine protection to a phone battery, the health minister said both need to be recharged.

    "We need to take action to charge our batteries and to safely maintain our level of production by staying up to date with our immunizations," Duclos said. "If it has been six months or more since our last vaccination, well it is time to get a booster."

    According to the federal health minister, PHAC has estimated that if Canada can increase its booster uptake, the country could reduce up to 90 per cent of hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 by the end of the fall or early winter.

    "This would support our health-care workers who are tired and who need our help," Duclos said.

    With pandemic restrictions largely lifted across provinces, and Canadians expected to increasingly spend more time indoors, doctors and epidemiologists are cautioning against a rise in COVID-19 cases this fall and winter.

    Duclos' calls were echoed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday who, speaking to reporters in Manitoba, said that as much as everyone would like COVID-19 to be in the past, it is still spreading across the country.

    "As winter comes and as people get pushed back indoors, there is a real risk of another serious wave of COVID. One of the best things we can do to prevent that wave, prevent the pressure on our health-care system, prevent provinces from having to take decisions around restrictions and mandates, is to ensure that everyone is up to date on their vaccinations," Trudeau said.

    The prime minister added that if Canadians roll up their sleeves for an additional dose if they are due, it will "help us all get through it, and keep life open and free the way we want it to be."

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