(January 5, 2022) – Paul Dinn, PC Official Opposition Shadow Minister of Health and Community Services and MHA for Topsail-Paradise, says the chaos caused by the Furey government’s booster rollout continues to cause confusion at a vital moment in the pandemic.

Speaking on VOCM on Tuesday, Premier Furey stated changing the eligibility dates for boost shots to five months allowed half the province to be eligible for shots at the one time.

“And there’s your problem. Instead of a specified, targeted roll out of booster shots like we saw with the initial vaccination roll out, the public was left scrambling for doses while pharmacies were caught off guard without the supply needed to meet the demand,” said Dinn.

“My office is receiving calls from seniors and vulnerable groups unable to get their booster shots, as well as frontline workers who are tasked with administering these boosters. We encourage everyone to get their booster dose, but the lack of organization by government on this rollout has caused confusion, delay and increased anxiety for many in our province.”

Dinn says it is clear essential workers, particularly in the healthcare system, were not prioritized in the booster dose roll out. In addition, Dinn is questioning why booster dose clinics are concentrated in St. John’s, without consideration for rural areas of the province.

“Nurses, early childhood educators, pharmacists and frontline healthcare workers have been left to compete with the general public for their booster doses. They should have received their boosters earlier so they could safely administer to the public. As so many healthcare workers now sit in isolation after exposure to COVID-19, it’s clear Furey’s decisions have consequences for the delivery of healthcare in Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Dinn.

“The Premier has some pretty basic questions to answer about this rollout: why was there no priority system for essential workers built into the rollout from the beginning? Why didn’t you ensure there was enough booster supply to meet demand or enough nurses to administer? Where are the rural booster clinics?”

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Contacts:

David Maher

Director of Strategic Communications

(cell) 709-725-0984

DavidMaher@gov.nl.ca