The goal of 75 percent of the eligible adult population having received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has been pushed back to the end of April.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola says that segment of the population is now expected to receive one dose by the end of March or early April and be fully vaccinated by the end of April.
This is the first time that any GNWT oficial has backed off of the goal to have full herd immunization by the end of March.
Approximately 42 percent of adults in the NWT have so far received their first dose.
Kandola says the territory will receive 16,200 doses of the vaccine by the end of this week and is expected to receive the same amount in the final shipment scheduled for the end of March.
Vaccine clinics in 30 of the 33 NWT communities have been fully scheduled, with residents in Yellowknife, Inuvik and Hay River having to wait a while longer before being fully vaccinated.
So far, the territory has administered 14,520 first doses of the vaccine, and fully immunized 1,932 residents.
