Health authorities in Canada will have to tackle public perception in their bid to get as many people as possible vaccinated as quickly as possible. On February 26, Canadian regulators announced the approval of the AstraZeneca vaccine which is 63 per cent effective in preventing people from catching COVID-19. Canada has already received and begun inoculating people with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which offer over 90 per cent effectiveness. This has prompted much discussion about the comparative value of the vaccines. Some people have said they do not want the AstraZeneca vaccine and will wait to get the more effective one.
Health officials have taken great pains to tell Canadians that they should get whatever vaccine is available to them and that the AstraZeneca shot is 100 per cent effective at protecting them against severe illness, hospitalization and death. Although this has not been proven in clinical studies, it is what has been observed in the real world where the vaccine has already been administered.
Seniors 85 year and older lined up for vaccines at a clinic in Laval, Quebec on Feb. 26, 2021. Each province and territory has its own plan on who to vaccinate when and they vary widely. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Not likely Canadians will have a choice
The other point is that there is little likelihood that that anyone in Canada will have a choice as to what vaccine is offered to them. Canada’s Advisory Committee on Immunization is recommending that the AstraZeneca vaccine not be administered to people 65 years and over. This age group had little representation in the clinical studies. However, in its interim recommendations, the United Nations’ World Health Organization has studied the matter and is recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine be administered to people over 18 including those 65 years and older.
In Canada, acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines has been the responsibility of the federal government. The provincial and territorial governments are responsible for administering inoculation and final decisions on who gets what when remains with them.
That said, all health authorities want to inoculate many people quickly in order to stem the spread of COVID-19 and the natural ability of any virus to mutate into something more transmissible or more deadly. A virus mutates as it replicates in the human body and will not be able to do so if people are not transmitting it.
AstraZeneca vaccines expected to arrive soon
Public health authorities will need to convince the public that it is best to get whatever vaccine is first offered to them. Doses of the AstraZeneca product are expected to arrive in Canada within the coming days. Health authorities across the country are stepping up their readiness to receive dramatically increased doses of all vaccines that are expected to arrive in Canada in the coming weeks. This comes after deliveries ground to a near halt in January and most of February 2021.
The speed and efficiency of the roll-out varies substantially across the country. The AstraZeneca vaccine is easier to store, transport and administer and will be useful for use in northern and remote communities.
Health Canada is expected to soon approve the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which will require only one dose.
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