Morning Update: AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer? Take whichever COVID-19 vaccine you’re offered, experts say Omair Quadri Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
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Good morning,
Experts who have examined the three available vaccine options in this country are giving Canadians some simple advice: Take what is offered as quickly as possible.
“I would take what is offered as it decreases your likelihood of severe disease and death,” said Tania Watts, an immunologist at the University of Toronto.
Most nursing-home residents in Canada have received at least one shot of the two-dose vaccines. Provincial statistics show infection, serious illness and deaths have plummeted since
Canadian experts warm to mix and match COVID-19 vaccine scenarios theglobeandmail.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theglobeandmail.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tania Watts (L) and Mario Ostrowski (Handout)
New findings from Temerty Faculty of Medicine researchers may help explain why SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – can cause more severe inflammation and lung tissue damage than a regular, seasonal influenza virus.
“The research helps us understand the immune response by people to the virus that causes COVID-19,” said physician Tania Watts, co-lead on the study and professor in the department of immunology. “We have gained insights into why some people might get severe outcomes from infection from SARS-CoV-2.”
Published in the Journal of Immunology, the study is based on blood cells taken in the spring of 2020 from 13 Canadians who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2, within the preceding four to 12 weeks.
MONTREAL Some of the just under 175,000 Quebecers who tested positive for the novel coronavirus are questioning whether they will need to get a vaccine. New research out of Montreal and Toronto about COVID-19 immunity is helping paint a clearer picture on how the body responds to the virus, and experts are advising those who ve recovered from the disease to get the vaccine even though it may not be necessary. We don t know how long this immunity is lasting, we don t know if it s going to be identical to vaccine-induced immunity, and maybe as we get more information, if the COVID induced immunity falls off, then some of those people will have to be vaccinated, said University of Toronto immunologist Dr. Tania Watts.