Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
May 06, 2021 - 3:42 PM
B.C. residents should know by the end of May if it’s better to “mix and match” their first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
“One of the things that we are learning is that the AstraZeneca vaccine does seem to have a stronger cell immunity response in those cells that help us have a long-term memory,” she said during a news briefing today, May 6. “So, it may be an advantage to have one of each of the types of vaccines we have available now.”
A study being done in the United Kingdom should produce results by the end of May that will help people make up their minds on what they want as a second dose. A similar study being conducted in Canada could take weeks or months longer to produce results, she said.
“What we will give people is a choice,” Dr. Henry said. “We know the AstraZeneca is a great vaccine and it works well and it stimulates the immune system in a certain way so people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine, they can receive the second dose with AstraZeneca or there may be the option of having a messenger RDN vaccine (such a Pfizer or Moderna) as a second dose.”
She did not say whether it will only be those who’ve had the AstraZeneca vaccine who will be given a choice or if everyone will have an option.
One problem is that very few doses of AstraZeneca are currently scheduled to be shipped to Canada so, if more doses don’t arrive, there will be no supply available if people want to take AstraZeneca as a second dose.
Close to 100,000 B.C. residents have already had their second dose and more are getting them every day as they reach four months since their first dose.
They are getting the same type of vaccine for their second dose, at least until the results of the study are released.
Dr. Henry also noted there is a rare chance of getting blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine and there seems to be a much lower risk of that happening when taking it as a second dose.
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