Canada vaccination
Canada to recommend a combination of AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Moderna shots interchangeably
Ottawa/IBNS: Canada is changing its guidelines and will advise Canadians to combine either the AstraZeneca-Oxford, Pfizer-BioNTech, or Moderna shots interchangeably in certain situations.
National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI)'s current guidelines states that a vaccination series that begins with AstraZeneca should follow up with the same shot and only recommends mRNA vaccines to be used interchangeably if the same first dose is unavailable.
The efficacy and safety of mixing and matching AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines in preventing COVID-19 are based on emerging research from Spain and the United Kingdom.
Based on these findings, NACI would provide the updated guidelines to provinces and territories in the coming days.
These recommendations will impact Canada's vaccine rollout due to issues with the supply of AstraZeneca and a rare but serious type of blood clot that can result after the shot called vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).
NACI will recommend Canadians who have had the first dose of Moderna or Pfizer, to take either of the two shots as a second dose.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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