The University of New Brunswick campus pharmacy distributed around 150 COVID-19 booster shots on Jan. 10 when the Government of New Brunswick’s booster shot age bracket expanded to include those 18 and older. Ayub Chishti, the UNB campus pharmacist, expects more people to come once Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccines are available.
On Jan. 7, GNB announced the COVID-19 booster shot availability would open to individuals aged 18 and older starting on Jan. 10.
“We were sent notification on Friday [and] we had extra [vaccines]. So rather than wasting the vaccine, we were able to give it to [walk-ins],” said Chishti. “If there’s any [vaccines] remaining at the end of the day, rather than having to throw it out, we [would] rather give it to people, if they qualify.”
The UNB campus pharmacy started giving Moderna/SpikeVax booster shots at first, due to a shortage of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots from the manufacturer.
Chishti invites anybody who feels comfortable getting the Moderna booster shot to do so now, even if there is a small chance of developing side effects.
“Thousands of doses [were] given and the side effects have been [a] very small percentage,” said Chishti.
Pfizer vaccines will be available on Jan. 26, but the number of shots will be limited and only offered through walk-ins.
The campus pharmacy offers booster shots to anyone, including students or anyone with a New Brunswick Medicare card, as long as it’s been five months since their last dose.
The process of getting the booster at the campus pharmacy is the same as a clinic. A form must be filled out and after the booster, people must wait 15 minutes to see if they develop a negative reaction.
“The vaccine can potentially give you side effects up to 14 days after the dose. … The common side effects are sore arm [and] fever,” he said. “Some people do [have] their lymph nodes under their armpit or around the neck swell up – that’s quite normal.”
Chishti recommends not to take any analgesics, commonly known as pain relievers, unless necessary and in case of a fever, only take antipyretics, which are fever reducers, if the fever is above 37 C.
“I think there are going to be a lot of people. A lot of it has already started,” said Chishti. “Soon you’re going to see how many people do get the booster.”
