AstraZeneca vaccine could speed up jabs to essential workers

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, approved by Health Canada on Friday, could provide the opportunity for some first-responders and essential front-line workers — such as postal workers, poultry workers, teachers and police officers — to get the COVID-19 vaccine sooner than expected.

The provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said Monday that some essential workers, particularly in sectors that have had COVID-19 outbreaks, could have the choice of receiving AstraZeneca sooner or waiting until their age category for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

“I think it's really good news,” Henry said.

“It means that everyone moves up in line.”

B.C.'s immunization committee will determine which essential workers will be eligible to receive the vaccine sooner.

Henry said because the two-dose AstraZeneca viral vector vaccine is “fridge-stable” it's easier to transport and distribute than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have to be stored in extremely cold temperatures.

Two experts agree with B.C.'s approach to create a “parallel track” by offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to essential workers who are more likely to contract and transmit COVID-19.

Caroline Colijn, a COVID19 modeller and mathematician at Simon Fraser University, and Horacio Bach, an adjunct professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of British Columbia, said the AstraZeneca vaccine could be better promoted by provincial health officials as a strong alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.