With 250,000 more AstraZeneca doses set to arrive in Ontario next week, the Province is scrambling to determine what to do in the wake of the vaccine’s first dose suspension after an uptick in rare blood clot cases.
Today Health Minister Christine Elliott provided an update.
“I know many of you are wondering about your second dose,” she said. “Data out of the UK shows a dramatically reduced risk of the adverse reaction called VITT (Vaccine Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia) in second doses of AstraZeneca and we are also seeing promising results of administering a second dose of a different vaccine.”
The Province looks forward to providing more guidance shortly after the AstraZeneca vaccine is reviewed by health officials.
Elliott says some of the already existing doses of AstraZeneca may expire in the meantime, but she says the safety and health of Ontarians is the first priority.
Vaccine Rollout Continues
With over 50 percent of adults in Ontario having received their first Covid-19 vaccine dose, the Province is still accelerating the rollout.
Elliott says come Friday, (May 14th) second doses of vaccines other than AstraZeneca will be made available for more frontline healthcare workers.
“As early as May 14th, high-risk healthcare workers will be eligible to book and receive their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier than the recommended four-month interval,” she said.
Elliott says following public health measures remains paramount as the pandemic continues.
As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 6,491,666 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, and over 50% of Ontarian adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine. 💉😷🎉 pic.twitter.com/0P7llmg4Gd
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) May 12, 2021
Photo via Christine Elliott Twitter Account