Tens of thousands of Nova Scotians expected to receive COVID shot in next two weeks

N.S. preparing to pick up the pace on rollout Nova Scotia leads the way in keeping case numbers low, but trails the rest of Canada in vaccinating people. Natasha Pace reports.

HALIFAX — The vaccine rollout continues across the country, and while some provinces have reported thousands of unfulfilled appointments, that doesn't appear to be the case in Nova Scotia.

"We don't see a lot of no-shows here in Nova Scotia," said Allison Bodnar, CEO of the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia. "I would say there's a couple a day and in many cases it's many people that have simply forgotten and we're able to accommodate them either later in the day and sometimes if things work out we can accommodate them on another day."

Tens of thousands of Nova Scotians are expected to receive a shot in the coming weeks.

"We're going to have 40,000 vaccinated this week. That's up from 27,000 last week and we're planning to have 50,000 vaccinated the week after," said Nova Scotia Health Minister Zach Churchill.

"We have been assured with Public Health, I think, with every reason, that it will take a little while to get the infrastructure to administer the vaccine in place," said Gary Burrill, leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic party. "But, once it's in place, we will see real headway being made and I think that's the place we are now."

In Nova Scotia, anyone 70 and older is eligible to book an appointment for a shot. The Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is being offered for this age range.

While Nova Scotians between the ages of 55 and 64 can book an appointment to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine. Many of the upcoming appointments for AstraZeneca are already booked.

"The first round of AstraZeneca got filled very quickly and we expect that to happen with the future rounds of AstraZeneca as well," said Churchill.

The leader of the opposition says the rollout is moving slowly and that Nova Scotia is still last in the country in per capita vaccinations.

"I've been raising a lot of concerns about people with pre-existing conditions who in every other province in the country are prioritized. But here, they're not," said Tim Houston, leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative party. "It has a big, huge impact on their quality of life so I would like to see them prioritized like they are elsewhere."