Ontario still offering option of AstraZeneca as second shot after new NACI guidance

Ontario says residents who got a first shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine can still opt to get it as their second dose. 

The province’s position comes after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said Thursday that people who got AstraZeneca as a first shot should get the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines as a second dose.

The guidance was updated because of evidence of a stronger immune response with that mix of doses and a lower risk of rare but serious blood clots. 

Ontario said Friday that it will still allow AstraZeneca recipients to decide whether to get the same vaccine or a different mRNA shot as a second dose. 

“If you had AstraZeneca for your first dose, you can safely take either AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer for your second dose for strong protection,” Alexandra Hilkene, a spokeswoman for Health Minister Christine Elliott said in a statement. 

 “To ensure maximum protection against COVID-19 and the Delta variant, Ontarians should get vaccinated as soon as they can and book their second dose as soon as they are eligible.”

In issuing its latest guidance, NACI said those who got one or two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine were nevertheless well protected  – a point Ontario reiterated on Friday. 

“NACI has noted that people who have received one or both doses of AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine can rest assured that the vaccine provides good protection against infection and very good protection against severe disease and hospitalization,” Hilkene said. 

“These individuals did the right thing to prevent illness, and to protect their families, loved ones and communities.”

Ontario continues to offer AstraZeneca at select pharmacies and primary care settings as a second shot. 

It stopped administering first doses of AstraZeneca in May over what it said was an increased risk of rare but serious blood clots. It had given out nearly a million doses of the vaccine by that point.

AstraZeneca recipients have to wait at least eight weeks after their first dose before getting a second shot of Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca.

Ontario has administered more than 12.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines so far and is further expanding second-dose eligibility next week. 

The province reported 345 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and one death linked to the virus. The Ministry of Health said there were 378 people in hospital with the novel coronavirus — 352 in intensive care.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2021.

Holly McKenzie-Sutter, The Canadian Press