Another age bracket of Albertans will be able to book appointments for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine starting Thursday, after more than 11,500 bookings were made Wednesday.
According to Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Albertans who were born in 1958, as well as First Nations, Metis and Inuit people born in 1973, will be eligible for an AztraZenica immunization.
The province is rolling out eligibility for its current 58,000 doses of the third vaccine to be approved in Canada based on birth year.
“If you are eligible to get the vaccine, please do so. And encourage your friends and neighbours to do so as well. The more people who become immunized, the less the virus will be able to mutate, and the less it will impact our communities.”
Those eligible are encouraged to book online or book in off-peak times, as 811 demand and call volume is expected to be high.
Hinshaw said as of Wednesday, nearly 138,000 seniors over the age of 75 who are not living in designated supported living or continuing care facilities – which were included in Phase 1A of Alberta’s vaccine rollout – have either gotten their shot or have their appointment booked.
So far, 309,000 doses of vaccine have been administered to Albertans, with 91,000 people being fully immunized against COVID-19 with two doses.
Hinshaw said it “can be tempting to let your guard down after immunization,” but stressed that more research needs to be done before health officials can determine how being vaccinated impacts viral transmission.
“Even if you have been vaccinated with one or two doses, all public health orders in place still apply,” she said.
Hinshaw stressed that while it’s recommended those with chronic health issues try to get a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine rather than AstraZeneca, the AstraZeneca vaccine is “not unsafe” for those who suffer from chronic conditions.
“If an individual who has a chronic condition wishes to receive AstraZeneca and they’re in the appropriate age group, they could choose to do so,” she said.
“There is no requirement to prove that an individual is healthy if they wish to receive AstraZeneca vaccine and they are in the eligible age group.”
Those looking to book an AstraZeneca vaccine appointment are encouraged to weigh their options and make the best decision for them, Hinshaw said.
Bookings for Phase 2A of the vaccine rollout is scheduled to start Monday, March 15, and will be open to those 65 to 74, no matter where they live, as well as First Nations, Metis and Inuit people 50 and older. Staff and residents of licensed supportive livings are also included.
However, Global News called 10 pharmacies in Edmonton currently providing immunizations, and several were already scheduling Phase 2A appointments. Hinshaw said some pharmacies have already started taking those appointments because they have stores of Pfizer vaccine that could be set to expire soon.
“We have also indicated to pharmacies that if they have doses of vaccine (that) will be expiring, that they should using those so that we don’t waste that produce,” she said.
“And so there may be pharmacies that have appointments open that haven’t been taken by those 75 plus, and then they would naturally go on to that next eligible category in order to not waste the vaccine.”
Alberta Health later said in an email that while pharmacies are taking those bookings, people are being asked to “be patient” and wait until Monday.
Hinshaw said the province is still working through the expression of interest process of getting doctors’ offices and clinics added to the list of places where vaccines can be administered. She said pharmacies have been the dominant provider of flu vaccines in Alberta, which means they already have the infrastructure in place for storage and tracking of vaccines that few clinics currently have.
Hinshaw said roughly half the current supply of AstraZeneca vaccine has to be used up before April 2, with the remainder having a longer shelf life.
With the current uptake in appointments, she doesn’t forsee any issue with having those vaccines in Albertans’ arms before their expiry date.
“With respect to whether Albertans might be waiting for an mRNA vaccine — the Pfzer or the Moderna – it’s difficult to say. I do think that we have good evidence, certainly real-world evidence out of the U.K., that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective at preventing severe outcomes in the individual who receives it,” Hinshaw said.
“So I would encourage Albertans who are eligible for vaccine to look at the options and then choose the vaccine that they’re able to get as soon as they can.”
16-week gap between shots
Starting Wednesday, appointments for first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses in Alberta will be spaced up to 16 weeks apart, but one infectious diseases researcher said that may not always be the case.
The change in timing comes after a recommendation from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which cited evidence showing there was some protection against severe outcomes after the first dose.
Up until Wednesday, doses were being spaced out up to six weeks in Alberta, which is already more than the two- and three-week recommendations of manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna.
However, it is not clear how long the province may follow the NACI recommendation of up to 16 weeks.
“It’s certainly possible that the door has been left open to be able to revert back to the timelines that were on the box, on the label, and that we have more data for,” said Dr. Ilan Schwartz, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Alberta.
“That said, from the standpoint of getting as many people as quickly as possible, it does make sense to hold off on those first doses initially, based on the data that has emerged. But I think as supply ramps up and starts to catch up with demand, I think certainly there could be a situation where that recommendation is relaxed.”
Schwartz said it may be possible to see large windows where people can select their date for a follow-up appointment.
Case numbers
Alberta labs confirmed an additional 399 new COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, from roughly 10,400 tests, putting the province’s positivity rate at 3.7 per cent.
A total of 254 people were being treated in the province’s hospitals, with 37 of them in intensive care units.
Two deaths were reported on Wednesday.
A woman in her 70s in the Calgary zone with no known comorbidities died. A woman in her 80s in the Central zone also died. Her case included comorbidities, according to Alberta Health.
Forty-seven new cases of variants of concern were also detected in the province, bringing the total number of cases since Dec. 15 to 734.
Hinshaw said the percentage of variant cases in Alberta’s total case numbers has risen slightly in six weeks, from three per cent in late January to nine per cent currently – which is significantly lower than other jurisdictions, which have seen their cases rise from three to four per cent to nearly 50 per cent in the same time frame.
“This means that our health measures — both the overall restrictions, as well as the targeted measures for variant cases – are working to slow the growth. And if we continue to work together, we can continue to limit the spread.”