All eligible Manitobans should receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of July.

Our province's Vaccine Implementation Task Force made that announcement Wednesday afternoon. Johanu Botha says people who received their first dose of vaccine on or before March 29 can now book their second dose appointment.

Individuals can book online at https://patient.petalmd.com/login?groupId=6032 or by calling (toll-free) 1-844-MAN-VACC (1-844-626-8222). People will need to know the date they received their first dose and the type of vaccine received. If an individual cannot recall this information, it can be found through their immunization record at https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/test-results/ or by calling the local public health office at www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/offices.html.

Dr. Joss Reimer says two weeks after a Manitoban is fully vaccinated, they will no longer be required to self-isolate if they are a close contact of a COVID-19 case, as long as they are not showing symptoms.

Meanwhile, our province is still awaiting results from a study on whether the same product must be used for dose one and two. Dr. Reimer says right now the advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization is to use the same product.

"However, we are looking to receive some information from a UK study and ideally this week that will help us know whether or not we can shift our policy going forward," she says.

In Manitoba, health officials are recommending a 12 week interval between doses of Astrazeneca. Dr. Reimer says this has nothing to do with supply issues. Rather, trials show the ability to protect people is much better when the second dose is given more than 12 weeks after the first dose.