New Brunswick’s Official Opposition will work with the Covid-19 Cabinet Committee for a provincial vaccination plan to be made public.

“As we get more details regarding Canada’s acquisition of vaccines against Covid-19, New Brunswickers are looking for more information of the vaccination rollout plan,” says Roger Melanson, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition. “People are anxious and are reaching out to my caucus colleagues to ask about where and when they’ll get vaccinated. They also want to know who is on the priority list and how they will make appointments for vaccinations. At tomorrow’s Covid-19 Cabinet Committee meeting, I will be asking questions and encouraging the provincial vaccination rollout plan to be made public.”

The federal government recently announced how many vaccines will be available and when vaccines will arrive in New Brunswick. Prime minister Trudeau made it public that Canada should be able to vaccinate up to 20 million people by June of this year.

“Not only is knowing that up to 20 million Canadians will be vaccinated in the next 6 months very positive news, it also allows us to predict how many doses will be coming to New Brunswick,” says Roger Melanson. “If we base ourselves on a per capita model, we should be able to identify roughly how many vaccines will be coming to New Brunswick by June 2021 and then elaborate a plan accordingly.”

The Liberal leader stresses the importance of government informing the public when it comes to vaccinations. “I have great faith in the work being carried out by Public Health and Public safety on a vaccine distribution plan, but I believe government needs to be more open and transparent with respect to the details of that plan.”

“The rollout of the vaccine is arguably a critical aspect of managing the pandemic right now, yet New Brunswickers are still in the dark about the vaccination process in the province. This plan needs to be made public as people will be much more comfortable if they know what to expect.”