P.E.I. moves up schedule for 2nd dose of vaccine

Some Prince Edward Islanders will be getting second doses of COVID-19 vaccine sooner than expected.

At the province's pandemicbriefing Thursday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said public clinics were reducing the time between appointments from 16 weeks to 12 to 14 weeks.

"Those second dose appointments have started to happen in June for many people," said Morrison.

For people who received the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine at a pharmacy, the province is still waiting for guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, but it is expecting that within the next week.

Whether NACI recommends AstraZeneca or one of the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, for a second dose, those vaccines will be available for people who need them, Morrison said.

It may also be possible that people will be allowed to choose what they get for their second shot, she said.

A plan outlined by Morrison and Premier Dennis King at the briefing would have 80 per cent of eligible Islanders fully vaccinated by Sept. 12, a couple of weeks earlier than previously discussed.

At the 80 per cent mark, public health would consider the province to have herd immunity against COVID-19.

More from CBC P.E.I.