Manitoba is expanding its recommendations for third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Joss Reimer, head of Manitoba's Vaccine Implementation Task Force says this builds on recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which recently recommended a third dose for seniors who are living in congregate housing such as personal care homes and assisted living. She says, as a result, Manitoba's clinical team is also now recommending a third dose for residents in congregate settings, such as assisted living.

According to Dr. Reimer, health regions will work with elderly housing sites in the coming weeks to make sure there are plans in place to have third doses available for residents. She notes there are about 500 of these sites across our province.

Dr. Reimer says the rationale for this recommendation is the same as why they recommended the third dose for those living in personal care homes.

"Immune responses among older people can be less robust and they can wane more quickly over time," she suggests.

Further to that, she says because of the way the COVID-19 vaccine was rolled out in spring, these were some of the first people in Manitoba to receive their first and second doses.

Dr. Reimer also announced Wednesday that the latest news of the United States Food and Drug Administration is that Pfizer is the vaccine being recommended for children aged five to 11.

"They have indicated that the benefits to this age group outweigh the risks," shares Dr. Reimer. "But this is not yet a final approval for use from the U.S."

She notes this is part of their approval process and Manitoba is closely monitoring their developments. Dr. Reimer says a review of the vaccine for children in this age group in Canada is underway by Health Canada.

"We still don't know exactly when the vaccine will be approved for five to eleven-year-olds," says Dr. Reimer. "But health officials believe that medical recommendations and approvals could come as early as mid-November."

According to Dr. Reimer, kids under the age of 12 make up about one-third of COVID-19 cases overall. She adds that age group currently makes up 75 per cent of cases in school.

Meanwhile, our province announced today that 184 direct care health workers in Manitoba are unvaccinated or have declined to volunteer their vaccine status and refused testing. There are 143 designated education staff in our province who are on unpaid leave of absence related to compliance with public health orders.