Second vaccine doses should be given ASAP: NACI

By News Staff

OTTAWA – Canada’s vaccine advisory board is changing its recommendation on when to give people their second COVID-19 vaccine.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) says now that there’s a greater vaccine supply flowing into Canada, second shots should be doled out as soon as possible.

“The 16-week interval was the upper limit and provinces and territories should aim to start administering second doses as quickly as regional logistics allows it,” said NACI Chair Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh, in a statement online.

“First doses have been a highly effective starting point from a population immunity perspective, and we now need to move towards our second doses to provide more complete long-term protection.”

Previously NACI said the second dose could be delayed by up to four months.

This comes as the National Immunity Task Force tells the Canadian Press we have to get a move on.

Almost 20.5 million Canadians have at least their first dose but fewer than two million of those have been fully vaccinated.

Canada delayed second doses up to 16 weeks in March on the advice of NACI because supplies were so scarce, but Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam wants one-fifth of eligible Canadians to have both doses, and 75 percent to have at least one before major restrictions can ease.

NACI is also updating its guidance on shots for people who are immunosuppressed, pregnant, or breastfeeding.

The agency says those populations were not included in early clinical trials and because of that it was only those people be given shots under specific circumstances.

“Given the ongoing risks of COVID-19 exposure and severe disease in Canada, NACI is strongly recommending vaccine for these populations who are pregnant, with autoimmune, and immunosuppressive conditions along with the rest of the population,” said Quach-Thanh.

NACI also says mRNA vaccines like Pfizer or Moderna are the preferred shots for pregnant people.


With files from The Canadian Press

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