Getting a double dose of AstraZeneca vaccine last week when I could have waited for one of the now preferred mRNA vaccines now seems like a dumb thing to do.
But I don’t regret speeding across town to get that second shot from a pharmacy even though the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is now recommending that people who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine get a second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.
In fact, I’m thrilled to have received my second dose and, with continued precautions such as mask-wearing and working at home, figure I’m on my way to a post-pandemic lifestyle.
By now, I’m used to feeling like a lab rat in a huge science experiment called the COVID-19 pandemic as B.C.’s provincial health officers struggled to match changing science with new recommendations.
Masks or no masks, remember that one? Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry eventually made a mask recommendation, even for most school students, after real world experience found that COVID-19 was spread by respiratory droplets or aerosols (smaller droplets).
Advice has changed over these past many months, however, that bad-boy vaccine AstraZeneca has certainly had its problems. When I first did my research, it seemed like a good idea to get that shot when it became available in B.C. through pharmacies.
It was being used to douse flames of coronavirus in hot-spots, was recommended for high-priority workers ,and people were scrambling to get a shot. In fact, it helped get us to where we are now: just over 100 cases a day compared to over 1,000.
Still, It seems every time you turn around there’s another concern about AstraZeneca.
The latest huge scare is that AstraZeneca double dosers won’t be able to get into the U.S. because of a Broadway play’s decision to restrict patrons to only those who’ve been fully vaccinated with Johnson and Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer.
That’s just pure speculation and a ridiculous one at that given the importance of tourism, including Canadian tourism, to the U.S. and the fact that AstraZeneca has been a vaccine workhorse in the U.K. and Australia.
The biggest reason not to get an AZ dose is because of the concern of blood clots, which is a major issue, given that it can be deadly. Those who haven’t been vaccinated should probably choose an mRNA vaccine to be safe, given NACI’s new advice.
However, new information also suggests the mRNA vaccines better protect against variants.
I went with AstraZeneca for both doses because I was among those older Canadians for whom the risk of a blood clots associated vaccination was low — and I wanted to get protection sooner because the risk of illness was potentially higher given my age.
I have good company — including 16,000 Canadians, all my siblings and Port Coquitlam MLA and solicitor general Mike Farnworth, who recently got his second dose and said he has no regrets.
Younger Canadians should certainly go with an mRNA vaccine, as is recommended in the U.K. and Canada, for improved coverage and to avoid the still rare but possible blood clots.
As for me, while my AZ protection (62%) isn’t as great as with Pfizer, my shot will keep me out of the hospital and I’m resigned to annual boosters like I get to prevent the flu.
HERE’S WHAT NACI SAYS ABOUT SECOND DOSES
NACI says:
“Emerging evidence from studies in Germany suggests a potentially better immune response, including against variants of concern, when a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine is followed by a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine, compared to two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Evidence continues to suggest a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine followed by a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine has a good safety profile.”
But for double dosers like me, NACI has less enthusiastic advice:
“Getting two doses of the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine provides good protection against COVID-19 disease. Receiving a full series of a COVID-19 vaccine helps protect you, your family and your community against COVID-19.”
Still, there is no perfect answer when making a calculated risk, and living through the COVID-19 pandemic has taught me you have to make decisions based on the information at hand.
I can now sleep soundly knowing that in a week I’ll be 62% protected against getting symptomatic COVID-19 disease and am less likely to land in hospital.
That’s a statistic I can live with.
