Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended a pause on the delivery of the Astra-Zeneca vaccine to residents under the age of 55.
Health Canada’s Dr. Supriya Sharma states the new recommendation was issued, after reports emerged from Europe of people, mostly women under 55, getting blood clots after receiving the Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
“To date, no cases of these events have been reported in Canada,” Sharma stated.
Sharma says with this new information, Health Canada has updated the terms and conditions of the authorization of the vaccine.
“These will include a requirement that the manufacturer conduct a detailed assessment of the benefits and risks of the vaccine by age and sex in the Canadian context,” she explained. “This information will support the ongoing evaluation of these rare, blood clotting events, and allow Health Canada to determine if there are specific groups of people who may be at higher risk.
Health Canada will assess this information when its received and we’ll determine if additional regulatory actions are necessary,” she added.
Saskatchewan will be following updated guidelines on the Astra-Zeneca vaccine, and will be pausing delivery of it to residents under 55.
The vaccine has been primarily used at the drive-thru clinic in Regina, and “some residents younger than 55 would have received AstraZeneca including eligible health care workers and vaccinators though no thrombosis-like adverse events have been reported in Saskatchewan to date.” the province said in a news release.
The province added “fewer than 100 doses of AstraZeneca” are currently in the province and additional shipments are expected.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority is examining the potential impact to the vaccine rollout plan and will have an update in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Manitoba is also pausing the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 55-years-old.
However, Medical Lead on the Vaccination Task Force Dr. Joss Reimer said the province recommended AstraZeneca only be used for Manitobans 55-and-older at this time “out of an abundance of caution.”
“This is a pause while we wait for more information to better understand what we are seeing in Europe.” Reimer added.
“The increase in this rare, serious blood clot affects somewhere around 1 in 100-thousand to 1 in 1-million people who received this vaccine. Typically, the symptoms happen 4-20 days after immunization, and the symptoms can mirror the symptoms of a stroke or a heart attack.” she explained.
Reimer says the AstraZeneca vaccine is currently available through medical clinics and pharmacies and they will be speaking with them “so they can adjust their vaccine plans”, adding anyone under 55 who had an appointment booked will be contacted to cancel their appointment.
Dr. Reimer continues urging Manitobans to get a COVID-19 vaccine, stating the benefits of the vaccine by far outweigh the risks.