Boosting boosters: experts say fourth doses not yet needed for general population

Many jurisdictions in the country have extended fourth-dose boosters to their most vulnerable populations, but some are wondering whether we might all need another shot to protect against the ever-changing virus in the near future.

It comes as Canada’s third shots of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout ramps up, with the prime minister vowing the country will have enough supply for all eligible Canadians with contracts signed through 2024 with Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. On Monday, Justin Trudeau also assured Canadians that a fourth dose will also be available for everyone, if and when they are needed.

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Dr. Allison McGeer, a microbiologist and infectious disease consultant in Toronto, says Canada isn’t at the point where fourth doses are necessary for the general population.

She says we know with other vaccines that sometimes you need three doses or four doses to get a prolonged, stable effect, but in terms of COVID-19 vaccines, we’re just going to have to see how protection goes and decide on that basis whether there’s value in extra doses.

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has already recommended that moderately or severely immunocompromised people receive a fourth dose at least six months after their third shot.

Many jurisdictions began offering fourth doses to the immunocompromised last month or early this month, including British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, while Ontario recently added long-term care home residents to that eligibility list.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer of health said Wednesday the province had also begun offering a fourth dose to immunocompromised people.