Province might soon expand Astrazeneca eligibility
Quebec's health minister said Thursday the province may soon expand access to the Oxford-astrazeneca vaccine to more age groups as the government sought to assuage concerns over seemingly empty vaccine sites in the Montreal area.
Currently, the Astrazeneca vaccine is available to Quebecers between the ages 55 and 79 at walk-in clinics around the province.
The province suspended its use in younger people over concern that the vaccine has been linked to rare but dangerous blood clots in a small number of people, but Health Minister Christian Dubé said the province is considering revising that decision.
“Public health is looking at whether to change the age categories for Astrazeneca,” he said, without specifying which groups could become eligible.
Health Canada reported Wednesday that it still considers the vaccine extremely safe and effective despite evidence it may cause blood clots in rare occasions. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended on March 29 that Astrazeneca not be used on patients under 55.
Dubé also addressed reports that Montreal-area vaccine sites are empty and running far below capacity, saying the province deliberately opened more sites than it needed in order to train personnel and to be ready to scale up when more doses arrive.
“When we don't have (enough) vaccine, which is the case in March, April and May, it's normal to have the people we trained look like they're not busy,” he said.
However, Dubé also acknowledged that some people may have a “certain hesitation” in taking the Astrazeneca vaccine.
Speaking in the hard-hit Beauce region south of Quebec City, he urged people who were eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“If you have the opportunity to come get an Astrazeneca today instead of waiting for the next six to eight weeks for your next chance to get vaccinated, I wouldn't hesitate,” he said.
Earlier Thursday, Premier Francois Legault told reporters in Quebec City he's happy with the vaccine rollout, including at walk-in clinics offering the Astrazeneca vaccine. He said the province administered more than 67,700 vaccine doses Wednesday and more than 19,000 were Astrazeneca.
“I'm very satisfied with the result,” he said.
The premier said Montreal may be quieter because the province is focusing on getting other parts of Quebec caught up after prioritizing the metropolis in the initial weeks of the vaccination campaign.
The province has administered more than 2.1 million of the 2.8 million doses it has received.