HALIFAX — Nova Scotia is announcing a milestone in its COVID-19 vaccination program after administering a 400,000th dose of vaccine today.

Health officials said in a news release the province has doubled the number of shots administered in less than a month, after the 200,000th dose was given April 16.

Officials say 37.5 per cent of the population had received one or more doses of COVID-19 vaccine as of Wednesday.

They add that more than 80 per cent of people 60 and over have received at least one dose and all residents of long-term care facilities have been fully vaccinated.

The update comes a day after the province said it is pausing its rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, citing concerns about rare but serious cases of blood clots.

Officials said the decision was made out of “an abundance of caution” and on the fact Nova Scotia has enough other vaccines to fully immunize people 40 and older. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2021.

The Canadian Press