Did you mix your COVID-19 vaccines? If so, you’re still protected, experts say
Some residents in Atlantic Canada have received two different COVID-19 vaccines for their first and second dose after the National Advisory Committee of Immunization (NACI) approved that mixing brands of vaccine is safe.
On Monday however, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan advised against people mixing COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers.
“We received a lot of queries from people who say they’ve taken one and they’re planning to take another one. So, it’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here,” said Swaminathan.
Canadians have been mixing COVID-19 vaccines for weeks now after direction was received from NACI, who has already approved mixing brands of vaccines, including Moderna and Pfizer to be safe.
"I personally have had a mixed vaccine schedule. I received Pfizer in the first instance and Moderna in the second instance. I will just say that we have done so based on the science and will continue to follow the science,” said Anita Anand, Canada's public service and procurement minister.
Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Lisa Barrett said even though there is currently limited data on whether the level of protection is the same when mixing doses, it is still safe to do so.
“Some of the data suggests that it's even better to have two different vaccines, so should people feel like they are not protected because they got two different brands of the vaccine? Absolutely not,” said Barrett.
But as data on vaccines has been developing quickly over the course of the pandemic, Barrett says it's normal for people to have questions after hearing about changes.
"There are certainly a lot of people that are vaccine-questioning and that's normal in the context of a brand new vaccine and we're just learning about it as we go, so it's great to ask lots of questions," Barrett said.
With 52 per cent of the eligible population in New Brunswick fully vaccinated, the province is still encouraging people to get vaccinated.
The message is to get two doses, regardless of the manufacturer.
“We’ve given AstraZeneca and the second dose Pfizer, so all of those combinations are approved by Health Canada and they do work. So, we’re asking New Brunswickers to get their vaccine no matter what,” said Dennis Abud, a pharmacist and owner of Jean Coutu in Dieppe, N.B.
On Tuesday, Abud's pharmacy had dozens of appointments booked for vaccines. The only supply they had for the day was Pfizer.
"We are going forward with continuing on the same regimen where the first vaccine that's available is the first vaccine you should get," said Abud.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.