Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended pausing the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to those under the age of 55 due to fears of recipients getting a rare type of blood clot.
A source tells The Canadian Press it is for safety reasons and adds it is a recommendation and it will left up to the provinces to follow suit or not.
Several European countries that had suspended use of the vaccine over concerns it could cause blood clots have since resumed administering it.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Medical Officer of Health with KFL&A Public health, says he think it’s prudent that the government’s trying to be proactive, and review the safety issue that is going on with that vaccine,
Dr. Moore says that they monitor the safety of all vaccines for at least 28 days after they are administered. Any untoward or unexpected event is reviewed by public health and that it’s counted and tracked provincially, nationally and internationally.
He went on to say that the comfort that the community can have is that they are monitoring this in a very close basis.
Currently, select pharmacies in KFL&A are administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to individuals 55 years of age and older as of April 1. Dr. Moore received his vaccine at a Kingston Pharmacy on March 23, and has confidence in the vaccine.
Dr. Moore says the rate for a vaccine induced event is anywhere from 1 in 250, 000 up to 1 in a million, and that it may just be specific to the lot provided to the UK.