FREDERICTON -- A New Brunswick pharmacy owner is speaking out – and looking to set the record straight – over the effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine after recently noticing a troubling trend.
"I'm hearing the conversations our assistants and techs are having with people on the phone, saying which vaccine is it? Oh, it's Moderna?" says pharmacist Alistair Bursey.
"There seems to be almost a preference going on for Pfizer."
Bursey says they're hearing misinformation from some people who believe that the Moderna vaccine isn't as good as Pfizer when it comes to its level of protection against COVID-19.
Both of these vaccines share the same technology, mRNA, which according to the government of Canada – teaches our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response, without having to use the live COVID-19 virus.
Both have been found to be nearly identical when it comes to level of protection.
"In this situation Moderna and Pfizer are between 94 and 95 per cent effective," says Bursey.
"It's a big concern for us because in our opinion, there's no difference between the two. They're both next generation vaccines."
Patients who call his north side Fredericton pharmacy are being told to take whatever vaccine is offered to them first, which is a message that's also coming from the New Brunswick Medical Society.
"We know these vaccinations are incredibly safe, they've been trialed and tested," says New Brunswick Medical Society CEO Anthony Knight.
"I encourage all New Brunswickers and Atlantic Canadian to get their shot when it's made available to them."
A call to roll up your sleeve and get your shot – whatever it may be.
