CANADIAN PM TRUDEAU RECEIVES FIRST DOSE OF ASTRAZENECA’S COVID-19 VACCINE
TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire received their first jab of the Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, with both getting the AstraZeneca injection what was symbolic support for it.
The Trudeaus received their injection at a pharmacy in Ottawa, and just before getting the jab, the Prime Minister said he was “very excited”. That inoculation came as the National Advisory Council on Immunisation or NACI also lowered the age threshold for getting the AZ vaccine from those over 55 to the 30-plus category.
The AZ vaccine has resulted in rare side-effects, blood clots with lower platelets, and one more case of this adverse reaction was reported in the province of Ontario, taking the countrywide total to four, following similar instances in Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick earlier.
In its recommendation, NACI said the complete series of the AZ vaccine could be offered to those over 30 without contraindications, but “only if the individual does not wish to wait for an mRNA vaccine” and if it is determined “that the benefit of earlier vaccination with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine outweighs the risk of Covid-19 while waiting for an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.”
Health Canada has “concluded that the benefits of this vaccine continue to outweigh the potential risks”. The adverse event has been referred to as Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia or VITT and is estimated to occur in one in every 100,000 to one in every 250,000 people vaccinated with the AZ jab.