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OTTAWA/TORONTO (Reuters) -Canadian health officials said on Monday they would stop offering AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to people under age 55 and require a new analysis of the shot’s risks and benefits based on age and gender.
FILE PHOTO: A senior receives the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as Quebec begins vaccinations for seniors over 85 years old in a clinic in Laval, Quebec, Canada February 25, 2021. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi/File Photo
The moves follow reports from Europe of rare but serious blood clots, bleeding and in some cases death after vaccination, mainly in young women. No such cases have been reported in Canada, with about 307,000 AstraZeneca doses administered.
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Canada’s vaccination advisors aren’t walking back a controversial “first-dose-first” COVID vaccine strategy of spacing shots up to four months apart, arguing it’s critical to get at least one dose into more bodies as quickly as possible.
Last month, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, or NACI, endorsed stretching the interval between doses up to 16 weeks a gap longer than any endorsed by any other country to get a greater proportion of the population at least partially vaccinated. The officially authorized window is 21 days between doses for Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, and 28 days between Moderna shots.
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Several provinces are following NACI’s latest guidance in an effort to get more people vaccinated with a first shot quicker.
The panel says it expects the administration of second doses won’t end up taking as long as four months based on Canada’s expected vaccine supply.
“NACI has also emphasized that jurisdiction, when determining the vaccine policy within provinces and territories, may choose to shorten the interval between the first and second dose in specific populations based on local epidemiology, local vaccine supply, public health considerations, and emerging data,” Deeks said.
However, some medical research experts argue that large gap is risky because it could lead to a new variant and result in less protection months down the line for people who are vulnerable.
OTTAWA The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is standing by its recommendation to delay second doses of two-shot COVID-19 vaccines by up to four months, but is now acknowledging that given Canadaâs increasing vaccine supply, not everyone will be waiting four months between their doses. Officials from NACI, as well as provincial and federal health authorities, briefed reporters Wednesday on new data they have released to back up their dose delay recommendation. âWith Canada s expected vaccine supply, the interval between the first and second dose is expected to be less than four months,â said NACI Vice-Chair Dr. Shelley Deeks.
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