Manitoba’s rollout of the latest iteration of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to begin soon after it’s approved by Health Canada in late September.
A spokesperson for the provincial government said Friday Manitoba is preparing to ensure access to the new KP.2 COVID-19 vaccine for its fall immunization campaign.
The province explained what’s happening with the current iteration of the vaccine, called XBB.1.5, as it prepares to receive the new, updated KP.2 vaccine.
All unused and expired doses of the current XBB.1.5 vaccine were to be returned to the province by the end of August, the spokesperson said.
That was done after receiving direction from the Public Health Agency of Canada and in anticipation of the arrival of the updated KP.2 vaccine.
Clearing out the old vaccine to make way for the new one ensures multiple formulations of the vaccine aren’t available with the same drug identification number, the government spokesperson said.
In the meantime, requests for patients who may still need a dose of the current XBB.1.5 vaccine within a short time frame can still be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Manitobans are encouraged to wait for the new formulation to be the most protected against the latest strain of the virus.
A six-month interval between doses is recommended.
— staff