'Too many moving parts': Ontario pharma prof says vax effort remains chaotic

A push to vaccinate more people sooner due to a vast increase in supply in Ontario and the emergence of Delta variant has meant fast-changing COVID vaccine eligibility rules. All this added up to “total chaos” over the past week for people looking to get their needle and those ready to give it. “There’s too many moving parts right now,” University of Waterloo professor and pharmacist Kelly Grindrod told The Record newspaper in Waterloo. “The rules change overnight and by the time you’re up the next day it’s hard to make sense of it.” In Ontario, for example, people over 80 became eligible for an earlier second dose—a change that was followed shortly after with similar new rules for those 70 and older. Students between the ages of 12 and 17 were also prioritized to get both doses before schools reopen in the fall. Post-secondary age young adults were soon added to the priority list. “Each group has essentially had a change,” said Grindrod, the pharmacy lead for Waterloo Region’s vaccine distribution taskforce. “I think that would be complicated enough.” Not quite. People who got AstraZeneca-Oxford for their first shot were also told last week they can now get the same vaccine for their second dose or switch to an mRNA vaccine. Or if they received an mRNA vaccine to start, they can mix up their Pfizer BioNTech with Moderna, or vice versa. Until recently, limited vaccine supply and a goal to administer a first dose to as many Canadians as possible meant the interval between first and second doses was set at 16 weeks. But with more vaccines coming in, the rules were changed over last weekend to shorten the wait time for a second shot. As well, initial research shows a single show is much less effective against the Delta variant than the Alpha variant that drove Ontario's third wave. The second shot bumps the efficacy rate from about 30% to 80%. Past messaging from public health officials around the first dose encouraged most Ontarians to get whatever shot was available. “Now the message is to get a second dose. Period,” Grindrod said. “It doesn’t matter. Just pick a vaccine."

'Too many moving parts': Ontario pharma prof says vax effort remains chaotic

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