Thousands of British Columbians have cancelled appointments for their second AstraZeneca shot, following guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
The committee updated its recommendations last week, saying mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, such as Pfizer and Moderna, are the preferred second doses for those who took AstraZeneca as their first dose, due to the “better immune response” generated by mixing and matching vaccines.
That caused demand for AstraZeneca in B.C. to plummet to 455 shots administered that day, compared to 5,918 shots the day before.
British Columbia, however, has not changed its guidance on AstraZeneca, with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry saying the German study that helped inform NACI’s change was a very small study and that all vaccine options are good options.
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Dr. Birinder Narang, a family physician and member of the COVID-19 South Asian Task Force, agreed amid the wave of cancellations of second-dose AstraZeneca appointments.
“All three vaccines are all great options but everyone needs to make the best decision for the context,” Narang said.
Health officials had said both vaccination approaches are highly effective, but that mixing an mRNA vaccine after a dose of AstraZeneca may give some boost to the immune system.
What is still unknown is whether that translates into better protection.
Narang said the way that NACI communicates guidance actually hinders the work being done by public health.
“Part of NACI’s role is to review the evidence and make the recommendations to Canada and sometimes, that timeline often does seem opportunistic,” he said.
“We know the messaging has to be so clear (so as) not to undermine how effective all the choices have been.”
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