Trudeau Receives Moderna Vaccine For Second Shot After Initial One With AstraZeneca

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday received his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine at an Ottawa pharmacy, opting for the Moderna vaccine after receiving the AstraZeneca shot for his first round

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd July, 2021) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday received his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine at an Ottawa pharmacy, opting for the Moderna vaccine after receiving the AstraZeneca shot for his first round.

The Prime Minister and his spouse, who contracted the novel coronavirus last March, received their first vaccine dose on April 23.

Trudeau appeared to be in good spirits as he received the second inoculation in a mixed-dose schedule. Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) recommended last month that those who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus shot as the first dose in their vaccination schedule should get vaccinated with a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine for their second dose.

There are two mRNA vaccines currently approved for use in Canada, the ones produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Trudeau had made a show of getting vaccinated with the UK drugmaker's vaccine amid safety fears after a potential link between the AstraZeneca shot and possibly deadly blood clots - vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) - was discovered.

However, after the link was established and dozens of VITT cases, including six deaths, were reported to Canadian health officials, NACI made its recommendation and AstraZeneca's use in provinces' vaccine rollout plans has largely been curtailed.

The mixed-dose schedule has been met with scepticism by some experts and members of the public, however, NACI says the mixed-dose schedule provides better protection against the disease and reduces the risk of developing VITT.