N.S. Chief Medical Officer Defends Truckers' Vaccination Strategy

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer has confirmed that rotational workers such as long-haul truckers were originally scheduled to have their own specific vaccination strategy, but are now placed in the same age-based system as other Nova Scotians. 

In a media briefing that took place on April 9 in Halifax, Dr. Robert Strang confirmed that Nova Scotia Public Health was originally planning to schedule rotational workers, long-haul truckers, and employees of large processing plants within the province to be vaccinated in May and June as part of Nova Scotia's so-called "Phase Two" of the provincial vaccination rollout.

However, with swift uptake on vaccinations offered to Nova Scotians aged 60 and older in the early stages of the third wave, Dr. Strang has confirmed that Public Health will now simply schedule long-haul truckers, rotational workers and processing-plant workers as part of the standard age cohorts for vaccinations. As of May 11, all Nova Scotians aged 40 and older were eligible to receive their first dose of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, with all provincial residents aged 30 and older eligible to receive their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine. 

"Now they'll be able to get their vaccine much more quickly and efficiently, as part of their age group, at a community pharmacy or community health clinics," Dr. Strang told reporters participating on a conference call for the April 9 media briefing. 

"By making this shift, they'll receive their vaccinations more quickly than if we were going to do the work to set out specialized vaccination clinics for them."

In response to a question from TELILE 24/7 host/producer Adam Cooke, Dr. Strang confirmed that the original Phase Two strategy for rotational workers including long-haul truckers was based on the now-outdated premise that Nova Scotia's vaccination rollout could stretch into September. 

"Many of them are now going to be vaccinated in April," Dr. Strang pointed out.