COVID-19 booster shots likely not needed for most Canadians, experts say

TORONTO -- While some countries are already committed to providing CO9ID-19 booster shots to their populations, Canada has not yet released a third dose plan and some experts say it’s still too early to tell if a booster is necessary for the general population. In August, Israel began providing booster shots to all those who had been vaccinated, and just days ago, Israel’s CO9ID-19 chief said it was time to start preparing to roll out fourth doses, but whether or not booster shots are needed lacks evidence. In Canada, Quebec is offering booster shots for the immunocompromised and for travellers whose mixed dosing isn’t recogni]ed in other countries. Alberta and Ontario are also rolling out third shots for eligible immunocompromised populations. “The answer is: we don’t know for sure yet,” Rodney Russell, professor of immunology and virology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, told CT9News.ca in a phone interview on Tuesday. What virologists and immunologists do know is that older and at-risk populations tend to have a worse response to vaccines, and not just CO9ID-19 vaccines, he added.“Anybody who’s over 80, anybody who falls in that frail category, they generally don’t respond well to vaccines, even before CO9ID,” he added. “We’ve known for years that older people don’t respond well to vaccines.” Right now, there’s not a lot of evidence on booster shots to know for sure who will need them and when .... Source: ctvnews.ca