When could New Brunswick remove all COVID-19 restrictions?
While 31.7 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers now have both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the province, there is a long way to go before restrictions lift. The province needs to boost those numbers by more than 40 per cent to hit its full reopening target on Aug. 2. The Path to Green, as its been known, requires 75 per cent of the eligible population to be fully vaccinated and COVID-19 hospitalizations to remain low before all restrictions would be lifted. But despite a record-breaking week with vaccines administered, Ray Harris, a Fredericton-based data strategy consultant with Data Wozo, says he expects the pace to slow  and New Brunswick to miss its target date. Story continues below advertisement  View image in full screen Ray Harris, a data strategy consultant, expects New Brunswick will miss its August 2 target to fully reopen 1. Courtesy: Data Wazo  Looking at the numbers we have now, expecting that to continue is just unreasonable and I dont, even though its so good right now, I dont think were going to hit that August goal, he says. I think well probably be a little bit later, if not into the early teens of August before we see it.  He says data from the U.S. shows second-dose hesitancy and concern about possible side effects. Second dose administration  Meanwhile, Dr. Jeff Steeves, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society (NBMS), says its very possible to achieve vaccine targets by Aug. 2 and is not worried about second dose hesitancy. I think there will always be a bit of slowing of the rate as youve gone through the really willing participants, but remember, everybody tolerated their first dose really well, he says. So if they had hesitancy, theyre probably through that because now they want to complete their vaccination.  Story continues below advertisement  He says 40,000 people were on the government vaccination booking site this weekend trying to book second dose appointments. But hes also heard of cases where people are vaccine shopping. Weve certainly heard of cases where people have shown up thinking they were going to get Pfizer, which had been the most common vaccine delivered, and Moderna is what was available at that point and having some reluctancy or hesitancy.  View image in full screen People lined up at the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Moncton Coliseum Tuesday. Callum Smith / Global News  Those two are basically interchangeable, they are the same messenger RNA vaccine thats taken 20 years to develop, theyre not new, theyve both been proven to be safe, theyve both been proved to be effective, Steeves says. Eagerness for normal life  People coming out the doors of the Moncton Coliseums vaccination clinic Tuesday are eager to put the pandemic behind them. Story continues below advertisement  Its been a month since my [first dose], I figured Id do my part, come out, get the second dose so we can get to that next level, get back to whats normal and then go from there, says Kevin McCaffery. He says both doses were Pfizer, but that I wouldve taken anything that was offered.  Samuel Bordage received the Moderna vaccine for his first dose and had Pfizer as the second dose. Hes looking forward to those beer gardens and concerts and all that fun stuff, and being able to travel, when all restrictions are eventually removed.