To all the folks who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, here is where things stand with all patients in the Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin Public Health Unit:
Even though there was an announcement last week that patients could access their second dose of the AstraZeneca as early as this week, we do not have a supply of the AZ vaccine to offer you at this time. Please reconsider reaching out to your primary care provider to find out which vaccine you should get or to find out if you can get the second dose this week. You could overwhelm our administrative staff the day after the long weekend which may make it difficult for patients with urgent medical conditions to get through.
Here is what we do know:
1/ 12 weeks has been shown to be the optimal interval between AZ doses.
2/ The first group who received the AZ vaccine at their primary care providers office or a pharmacy, received that dose mid-March which means your second dose is not due until mid-June. There is time and we will use that time to determine what the safest option is for you.
3/ The risk of VITT ( that rare blood clot) after the first dose of AZ is around 1 in 60,000. The risk after the second dose is 1 in 600,000 to 1 in 1 million. This is still a moving target.
4/ The risk of community transmission of COVID is decreasing as every week passes. When you took that first dose of the AZ vaccine, we were climbing the peak of a terrible third wave. Getting vaccinated with the AZ vaccine was completely the right thing to do. Thank you for taking the vaccine.
5/ The results of two mix and match studies are showing very promising results with excellent protection with AZ as the first dose and a mRNA ( Moderna or Pfizer ) as the second dose. Final results are expected in the next two weeks
So, sit tight. You will be offered that second dose but in a lot of areas of the province, the second dose of AZ may not yet be available this week and definitely not in GWD. Our offices are now receiving the Moderna vaccine and if the mix and match studies provide proof of efficacy, this vaccine will be available to you in some offices and many pharmacies.
As for my patients and for the people who received their first dose of the AZ vaccine at my office, you have a followup appointment already booked at 12 weeks. Keep that appointment. I will make sure you know what your options are before then and provide you with the information you need to make a fully informed choice. I will also tell you what I think you should do based on the evidence.
Thanks for hanging in their people. You allowed for 2 million Canadians to be partially protected against COVID-19 and as a result you contributed to the significant decline in COVID 19 cases across the country.
T'was a great weekend. We so deserved that. Garden is in, herbs are planted, two friends joined us for drinks on the porch.....felt just a little bit normal.
Amen to that.
Anne-Marie
This is a very important post. I'd like to reassure as many people who received the AZ vaccine as possible so please share.
For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:
https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/
And if you'd like to help Bracelet of Hope work towards making sure that Lesotho has access to these vaccines, donate here:
https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-In
No comments:
Post a Comment