Maritimers less hesitant about mixing vaccines, but seem to prefer consistency
Despite ongoing reassurances from health officials that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are virtually identical and interchangeable, it seems many Canadians still prefer Pfizer and they're willing to wait to get it for a second shot -- but not necessarily in the Maritimes.
Moderna supplies have increased dramatically in recent weeks, prompting public health officers to urge residents to book second shots as soon as possible.
"I also want to reiterate that there is no difference between Moderna and Pfizer vaccines," said Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang during opening remarks at a COVID-19 briefing in Halifax on Tuesday.
"They are both mRNA vaccines, and both very effective," Strang said.
The sentiment was echoed by New Brunswick's top doctor on Wednesday.
"Those who received a Pfizer-BioNTech product as their first shot can get a Moderna vaccine for their second," said Dr. Jennifer Russell in Fredericton.
"These vaccines work in exactly the same way and are equally effective, separately or in combination."
In Dartmouth, about a thousand Pfizer appointments were booked at a former retail site at the Mic Mac Mall on Wednesday.
Retired engineer Michael Monteith was among those who'd come to get a shot, but insisted he had no preference on which vaccine he got.
"I wouldn't care if it was Moderna, if they had that," the 80-year-old told CTV News.
"Or if they didn't have a Pfizer. I would take Moderna."
Reg Clarke from Lower Sackville agreed.
"It didn't matter to me. As long as I got one, because everybody says they're both the same," Clarke said.
Those on the front lines of distribution around here say there doesn't appear to be any particular preference, but Maritimers seem to seek the satisfaction of keeping both shots the same.
"It's been hesitancy in switching that vaccine. It's not hesitancy in one vaccine over the other," said Allison Bodnar, CEO of the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia.
"If we look at the bookings, every booking we have for the next few weeks is full, whether it's for Moderna or Pfizer, or quite frankly, the end of the AZ allotment," she added.
"I think in Atlantic Canada, people just want to get their second shot,"
Leaving the mass vaccine site in Dartmouth, Monteith offered advice for anyone hesitating to book based on manufacturer preference.
"Don't wait another month," he said. "The risk is too great."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are headed to St. John's, N.L., after a plane overshot a runway at the city's airport this afternoon.
A teen was found buried in a basement in New York. An engraved ring helped police learn her identity two decades later
For more than two decades, the unknown victim was nicknamed "Midtown Jane Doe" because she was found in the Hell's Kitchen neighbourhood of New York City. But this week, investigators finally revealed her identity.