New Brunswick Misses Vaccine Goal, Won't Begin Re-Opening as Planned

At a press conference in Fredericton on Monday, June 7, 2021, Premier Blaine Higgs confirmed that Phase 1 of the "Path to Green" would only come into effect once 75 per cent of New Brunswickers have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The provincial government had planned to launch phase 1 of the Path to Green on June 7, but it was conditionally on the province hitting the 75% target. Premier Higgs and New Brunswick Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell reported that 70.3 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older have now received their first dose--a respectable number, but still not enough to launch the path to re-opening.

“While we have not reached 75 per cent yet, we have made great strides towards reaching our goal and I am confident we will get there soon,” said Premier Higgs. “This is not the time to get discouraged; this is the time to remind those people in our lives who might be on the fence about booking a vaccine appointment to take that step.”

Premier Higgs and Dr. Russell are confident New Brunswickers will continue to book first dose appointments this week and will hopefully hit the 75% target by the end of the week. 

“Today, I am appealing directly to our young people to book a vaccine appointment, if they have not already done so, and to encourage their friends to do the same,” said Dr. Russell. “When you get vaccinated, opportunities will open that have not been available in more than a year. There is a path to a normal summer for all of us in New Brunswick, and it leads through a vaccination clinic.”

Public Health reported one new case of COVID-19 on Monday. The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 2,266. Since yesterday, 23 people have recovered for a total of 2,110 recoveries. There have been 44 deaths, and the number of active cases is 111. Four patients in total are hospitalized. Three patients are hospitalized in New Brunswick, including one in an intensive care unit. One patient is hospitalized out of province in an intensive care unit. Yesterday, 864 tests were conducted for a total of 343,929.