Manitoba to delay second doses

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This article was published 04/03/2021 (1672 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Following British Columbia’s lead as well as advice from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, the province announced on Wednesday that it will delay giving residents their second doses of COVID-19 vaccines so that more people can receive the immunity granted by a first dose.

Vaccine implementation team members Dr. Joss Reimer and Johanu Botha said during an early afternoon media conference that people who already have appointments to receive their second doses will still be accommodated despite the change.

“Based on what the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which provides guidance to provinces and territories, has shared with us so far, we are expecting that they will soon be releasing additional guidance on spacing between first and second doses,” said Reimer.

“In anticipation of this guidance, today I can confirm that Manitoba will be delaying the second doses, and this is true no matter what vaccine we are talking about. This approach will allow us to immunize more eligible Manitobans sooner, and this helps protect us all.”

Later in the afternoon, after the provincial announcement, the NACI issued a statement confirming that it is now advising jurisdictions in Canada that because of limited vaccine supply, they should maximize the number of individuals receiving protective benefits from a first dose of vaccine and stretching the time until they receive their second dose up to four months.

While the manufacturers of the vaccines don’t endorse a wait that long between doses and Canada’s chief science officer recently expressed concerns over such delays, the NACI said that real-world data shows 70 to 80 per cent efficacy from mRNA vaccines after a single dose and that clinical trials of the AstraZeneca vaccine show that delaying the second dose by 12 weeks or more resulted in greater efficacy.

This mirrors the strategy announced by B.C.’s top doctor Dr. Bonnie Henry earlier this week.

“The vaccine effectiveness of the first dose will be monitored closely, and the decision to delay the second dose will be continuously assessed based on surveillance and effectiveness data and post-implementation study designs,” the NACI’s statement reads. “Effectiveness against variants of concern will also be monitored closely, and recommendations may need to be revised.”

In a technical briefing for members of the media held Wednesday morning, Reimer and Botha announced that doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are expected to arrive in Manitoba by mid-March.

Reimer said during the afternoon briefing that NACI only currently advises that the AstraZeneca vaccine be used on people from ages 18 to 64.

It was reported in Wednesday’s edition of the Sun that Brandon parent Bruce Strang is working toward filing a human rights complaint regarding the province not giving people with Down syndrome and other disabilities priority access to vaccines given that they are more at risk of being hospitalized or dying due to COVID-19.

Asked about the issue, Reimer said the province is considering prioritizing people with Down syndrome to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine, but noted that additional health concerns like heart defects would also be taken into account when assessing who is at the highest risk.

In an email to the Sun, Strang said it was a start.

“The bigger issue is that many people have seriously elevated risk due to disability issues, and the province should be taking a closer look at all the complex health issues,” he wrote. “So, I will have some cautious optimism until we see more information about what the province is thinking. I am also somewhat chagrined that it takes a public media campaign to get the provincial government to consider disability issues.”

Forecasts and predicted schedules were released for Manitoba’s vaccination efforts on Wednesday morning, but Botha said in the afternoon that they were no longer applicable as calculations would need to be done to take into account Manitoba’s new delayed second dose strategy.

The province also extended vaccine eligibility on Wednesday, with people aged 89 and older and First Nations people 69 years and older now allowed to book vaccination appointments.

As of Wednesday morning, 80,171 doses of vaccine had been administered in Manitoba. That figure represents 50,895 first doses and 29,276 second doses.

In total, Manitoba has received 124,840 doses of vaccine, 95,940 doses from Pfizer and 28,900 doses from Moderna.

Approximately 500 medical clinics and pharmacies have applied to join the immunization campaign.

It is likely that the AstraZeneca vaccine will eventually be sent to these facilities due to its less stringent cold chain requirements than the other two approved vaccines.

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