Ottawa — A National Advisory Board on Immunization has been fired after inconsistent with the advice Canada has received for weeks to vaccinate the first vaccine against COVID-19.
NACI said Monday that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were “favorable” and that Canadians would take them before deciding whether to inoculate one of the other two vaccines approved for use in Canada more immediately. He said the risks of waiting for one of them need to be weighed.
The Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines are associated with a new and very rare blood coagulation syndrome.
As a result, Commission Vice-Chairman Dr. Sherry Dikes said people working from home in less ill states may want to wait for Pfizer or Moderna vaccination.
However, she said it would be a very different risk and benefit analysis for those working in manufacturing plants without personal protective equipment in a wildfire-spreading state of COVID-19.
NACI’s advice seems to be inconsistent with Health Canada’s long-standing recommendation that the best vaccine is the first available vaccine.
Some doctors warned that the committee was confusing and exacerbating vaccine hesitation, and used social media to condemn NACI’s latest advice.
“It’s hard to say this, but taking NACI’s recommendations with a grain of salt is a thing of the past,” said emergency physician Dr. Brian Goldman on Twitter.
“For your health, don’t choose for #covidvaccines. Take the first one offered.”
People vaccinated with AstraZeneca also expressed anger at using social media to get crazy about getting second-rate vaccines.
One Twitter user summed up NACI’s advice, “The person at the highest risk is at the highest risk, so you should choose the vaccine with the highest risk.”
NACI Chair Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh exacerbated the situation in an interview on CTV’s power and politics on Monday simply trying to explain the Commission’s advice.
“For example, if my sister was vaccinated with AstraZeneca and it could have been prevented and she died of thrombosis when she was known not to be in a high-risk area, I would live with it. I don’t know if I can do it, “she said.
The risk of a new blood coagulation syndrome known as vaccine-induced thrombocytopenia (VITT) is estimated to be 1 in 100,000 doses and 1 in 250,000. However, the syndrome is so new that little is known about what the real risk is, why it is happening, and who is most likely to develop a blood clot.
Seven cases have been reported so far in Canada, all of which are for those who have been vaccinated with AstraZeneca. As of April 24, about 1.7 million doses have been administered.
As of April 23, 17 cases of VITT have been confirmed out of more than 8 million doses of J & J vaccine administered in the United States.
Health Canada has approved J & J’s use in Canada, as the first batch delivered last week is under investigation following reports of safety and quality control breaches at the US facility involved in its production. , Canadians haven’t received it yet.
NACI suggests that states and territories may want to prioritize J & J, the only single vaccine ever approved in Canada, for those who have difficulty planning a second dose. I will. J & J, like AstraZeneca, recommends offering only to people over the age of 30.
Conservative MP Michelle Lempel Garner raised the turmoil created by NACI’s latest advice at the House of Commons on Monday.
“This is very different from what we were hearing. Health Canada recommends vaccination with the first vaccine provided, or if possible, a mRNA (Pfizer or Moderna) vaccine. Would you recommend waiting? “She asked.
Health Minister Patty Haidu replied that Health Canada is responsible for approving the use of the vaccine, and NACI provides independent advice on the best way to administer the vaccine. She advised Canadians that they were wondering which vaccine was appropriate to ask their healthcare provider.
Both AstraZeneca and J & J are viral vector vaccines that take the common cold virus, replicate it to prevent someone from getting sick, and attach the SARS-CoV-2 virus peplomer to COVID-. Cause 19. This vaccine helps the body initiate an immune response that recognizes and repels the actual SARS-CoV-2 virus when exposed to it.
Pfizer and Moderna use mRNA technology to attach peplomer proteins to molecules that deliver messages to the body to perform specific functions. The message in this case is to initiate an immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
So far, 1,280,000 people in Canada have been vaccinated at least once. About two-thirds of them received Pfizer, one-fifth received Moderna, and the rest received AstraZeneca.