Province plans to expand AstraZeneca shots to those 65 and older,
Province will revisit plan with doses now OK’d for 65 and up by federal body
Ontario will continue vaccinating people in their early 60s with AstraZeneca for now and adjust the rollout plan with the National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s approval of the COVID-19 shots for anyone 65 and older, Premier Doug Ford says.
Although the change in guidance from NACI was widely expected after jurisdictions in Europe recently cleared the serum for older seniors, Ford seemed caught off guard and frustrated by the move announced Tuesday morning in Ottawa.
“It just messes up everything to be very frank with you,” Ford told a news conference.
“It’s good news that they can go older than 65 but, man, we got everyone lined up and all of a sudden without notice today now we can move the goalposts again,” he added.
“We’re going to fulfil the commitment with the people that have already registered.”
There were no details on when Ontarians age 65 and up can book appointments for AstraZeneca shots — which began last week under a pilot project at more than 300 pharmacies in Toronto, the Kingston and Windsor areas — or whether people in their early 60s might see the opportunity for shots disappear, at least temporarily.
Ontario received 194,500 doses of the vaccine last week and rushed them out to pharmacies and about 40 family doctor’s clinics in Toronto, Hamilton and four other areas to be used before an April 2 expiry date.
“We are reviewing this updated guidance from NACI and are actively considering the future use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine,” a statement from Alexandra Hilkene, press secretary to Health Minister Christine Elliot, said later Tuesday afternoon.
“We have only received a limited supply of AstraZeneca to date, and the majority of those doses have been administered or are booked to be administered through the province’s pilot in pharmacies and primary care settings. These bookings will be honoured.”
Elliot has previously said that Ontario would follow any guidance from NACI.
The province is awaiting more details from the federal government on future shipments and delivery dates, Hilkene added.
Health Canada approved AstraZeneca for adults over 18 two weeks ago but the immunization committee of scientists across the country initially held back on a recommendation for those 65 and up, citing a lack of data on efficacy at higher ages.
That prompted Ontario to arrange for people in their early 60s to get shots as the oldest recommended age cohort. Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 climb substantially after the age of 60.
In its update Tuesday, NACI said “real-world evidence” on the use of AstraZeneca, specifically two studies from the United Kingdom’s vaccination program, shows it is safe and effective in older adults but said Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appear more effective, making them preferred for seniors.
New Democrat Leader Andrea Horwath said it’s disappointing that Ford didn’t have clear answer for over-65s on the vaccine given the high interest in shots with more contagious variants circulating widely and the government’s science table proclaiming the province is into a third wave of the pandemic.
“Medical experts say AstraZeneca is safe for all adults. This was always a possibility, so there should already be a plan for the distribution and prioritization of future shipments of AstraZeneca ready to go.”
Health Canada continues to recommend AstraZeneca despite concerns in several European countries that it could be related to blood clots, which have led to temporary pauses in its use. Canadian officials maintain there is no evidence the vaccine is the cause, but Ontario pharmacies have reported some customers are cancelling appointments.
On Twitter, the science table said variants of concern have reached 53 per cent of new daily cases, and have helped to increase the seven-day moving average of all cases by 15 per cent in the last week to 1,334 infections. That is triple the growth rate of the previous week.
The transmission rate of new variants is 48 per cent higher than for earlier strains of COVID-19, which are declining.