Canadian Provinces Of Ontario, Alberta Halt Use Of AstraZeneca Vaccine's First Dose

Faizan Hashmi Published May 12, 2021 | 03:50 AM

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2021) The Canadian provinces of Ontario and Alberta will no longer offer the Oxford-AstraZeneca's first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to its residents, provincial health officials said.

"Effective today, Ontario will be pausing the rollout and administration of the initial doses of AstraZeneca vaccine," Ontario's Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Williams said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

The decision was made amid an increase in blood clotting events, a side effect of the AstraZeneca shot, Williams explained. To date, the country has recorded at least a dozen instances of Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT) following inoculation with AstraZeneca vaccine and at least three deaths.

Alberta pulled the plug on first-dose vaccination with AstraZeneca earlier in the day, albeit citing "global supply challenges" as the reason for the stoppage.

Both provinces say they now intend to save the second doses for those who were first vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Additionally, public health officials in Ontario and Alberta say they will review evidence about mixing the mRNA-based vaccines, namely the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, with the AstraZeneca vaccine when it comes to the second dose.

Despite provinces slowly moving away from AstraZeneca and Canada's independent National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) deeming the mRNA shots more effective, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during a press briefing earlier on Tuesday, still encouraged Canadians to receive the first vaccine offered.

Canada's vaccination regime has faced repeated setbacks, with the country experiencing a shortage of doses, despite the Trudeau government lauding deals with numerous vaccine manufacturers.

The vaccination program has also been undermined by mixed messaging with Canadian health officials suspending the use the Oxford-AstraZeneca and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines because of safety issues, despite assurances about safety and calls from top officials for Canadians to be vaccinated with the first vaccine offered.