NACI names several more groups who should qualify for COVID-19 booster shots

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has expanded eligibility guidelines for booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines.

The committee now recommends mRNA boosters to people who received two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, adults over the age of 70, front-line health-care workers with a short interval between their first two doses, and people from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities.

The latest recommendation says the emerging evidence suggests vaccine effectiveness against asymptomatic infection and mild COVID-19 disease may decrease over time, and a booster could help restore protection.

The committee continues to recommend boosters be given six months after the first two doses are received.

The committee found no evidence of widespread waning immunity against severe disease in the general population.

British Columbia has already promised anyone in the province wanting a booster shot of a mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will have access to one by May 2022.