Liberal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos compared getting a Covid-19 booster to recharging a phone battery during a press conference on Thursday, in which health authorities discussed the approval of the bivalent Moderna shot for the fall season.
“Vaccine protection is like a phone battery. It needs to be recharged from time to time. Recharging our protection after six months is important, otherwise, we are left without the power to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” said Duclos.
“When protection wanes, action is required just like a phone battery. Your phone battery needs to be recharged for your phone to work, to have appropriate power to operate and for your vaccination protection to be affected, so you recharge your phone battery by plugging it into the electricity.”
Duclos said that the federal government would launch a “national campaign” to encourage Canadians to be updated on all of their boosters as experts anticipate an upcoming wave of the virus as the seasons change.
“You recharge your vaccine protection by taking action and getting a vaccination. So that’s going to start next week. This is obviously a national campaign,” said Duclos.
Health Canada approved the use of the novel Moderna vaccine which contains half the dose of the original shot with some modifications meant to protect against the BA.1 Omicron variant. The vaccine is currently authorized only for people over the age of 18.
“This is the first bivalent COVID-19 vaccine authorized in Canada and marks a milestone in Canada’s response to COVID-19,” Health Canada wrote in a press release.
“After a thorough and independent scientific review of the evidence, Health Canada has determined that the bivalent Moderna Spikevax booster is safe and effective.”
Vaccine uptake for subsequent boosters has declined across Canada. 82.02% of the population has received their primary series – which includes two doses of the Covid vaccine. However, only 49.55% of Canadians have received their primary series of Covid vaccines along with one booster dose.
Meanwhile, only 12.36% of Canadians have opted to receive two additional boosters on top of their primary series vaccination.
