OTTAWA, Jun 2 (NNN-XINHUA) – Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunisation (NACI), announced its updated guidance yesterday, to allow mixing and matching approved COVID-19 vaccines in most scenarios.
Under the updated guidance, people who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine may receive Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for their second dose, unless contraindicated. Four vaccines, developed by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, have been authorised for use in Canada to date.
“NACI has worked to quickly adapt this guidance on the use of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada, to ensure optimal protection of Canadians, at pace with the ever-changing circumstances during this pandemic,” Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Theresa Tam, said at a press conference yesterday.
While NACI is advising that the vaccines can be safely used in combination, Tam said, Canadians should try to get the same dose in a series, if possible, specifically when receiving Pfizer or Moderna.
“NACI is not recommending just use them interchangeably, but mostly try and use the same vaccine for the second dose,” Tam said. “If you can’t find it, or you don’t know what someone had, whether it’s Pfizer or Moderna for the first dose, another vaccine can be considered.
“This is not a new concept, so having a multi-dose series in terms of vaccines given by manufacturers is something that public health have used over time for many other vaccines,” Tam said. “When vaccines and supplies change, this is not an unusual thing to do.”
As of yesterday afternoon, 21,942,111 Canadians, or 57.75 percent of the country’s population, have got the first dose of vaccine and 2,144,126 people, or 5.64 percent, have had the second dose.
The steady decline in COVID-19 continues in Canada. The latest seven-day average is now below 2,700 cases and the average daily deaths fall to 39, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
As of yesterday afternoon, Canada reported 1,248 new cases, bringing the cumulative total to 1,382,822, including 25,565 deaths, according to CTV.– NNN-XINHUA
