A COVID-19 vaccine is administered in Winnipeg, on March 1, 2021.Kevin King/The Canadian Press
The Manitoba government says it should be able to get a first dose of COVID-19 vaccines to all eligible people in the province this spring – months ahead of the original prediction.
Acting on studies that have shown a first dose is more effective than originally believed, the province is now delaying second doses in order to get more initial shots done more quickly.
“We’re very confident in the data that we’ve seen so far regarding the effectiveness in the real world of the first dose,” Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead of the province’s vaccine task force, said Friday.
Originally, the province’s plan was to have everyone immunized by late summer to late fall, and first doses would only be booked when there was certainty a second dose would be available within a few weeks.
Now, the second dose will be delayed by up to four months, freeing up room for more people to get first shots. As a result, all eligible Manitobans should get that first shot sometime between mid-May and the end of June.
Canada pre-purchased millions of doses of seven different vaccine types, and Health Canada has approved four so far for the various provincial and territorial rollouts. All the drugs are fully effective in preventing serious illness and death, though some may do more than others to stop any symptomatic illness at all (which is where the efficacy rates cited below come in).
- Also known as: Comirnaty
- Approved on: Dec. 9, 2020
- Efficacy rate: 95 per cent with both doses in patients 16 and older, and 100 per cent in 12- to 15-year-olds
- Traits: Must be stored at -70 C, requiring specialized ultracold freezers. It is a new type of mRNA-based vaccine that gives the body a sample of the virus’s DNA to teach immune systems how to fight it. Health Canada has authorized it for use in people as young as 12.
- Also known as: SpikeVax
- Approved on: Dec. 23, 2020
- Efficacy rate: 94 per cent with both doses in patients 18 and older, and 100 per cent in 12- to 17-year-olds
- Traits: Like Pfizer’s vaccine, this one is mRNA-based, but it can be stored at -20 C. It’s approved for use in Canada for ages 12 and up.
- Also known as: Vaxzevria
- Approved on: Feb. 26, 2021
- Efficacy rate: 62 per cent two weeks after the second dose
- Traits: This comes in two versions approved for Canadian use, the kind made in Europe and the same drug made by a different process in India (where it is called Covishield). The National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s latest guidance is that its okay for people 30 and older to get it if they can’t or don’t want to wait for an mRNA vaccine, but to guard against the risk of a rare blood-clotting disorder, all provinces have stopped giving first doses of AstraZeneca.
- Also known as: Janssen
- Approved on: March 5, 2021
- Efficacy rate: 66 per cent two weeks after the single dose
- Traits: Unlike the other vaccines, this one comes in a single injection. NACI says it should be offered to Canadians 30 and older, but Health Canada paused distribution of the drug for now as it investigates inspection concerns at a Maryland facility where the active ingredient was made.
How many vaccine doses do I get?
All vaccines except Johnson & Johnson’s require two doses, though even for double-dose drugs, research suggests the first shots may give fairly strong protection. This has led health agencies to focus on getting first shots to as many people as possible, then delaying boosters by up to four months. To see how many doses your province or territory has administered so far, check our vaccine tracker for the latest numbers.
The exact timing will depend on the flow of national vaccine supplies during the second quarter of the year – from April to June.
“We’ve received estimates from the federal government about how many [doses] we expect in Q2, but not when in Q2 those doses might come in,” Dr. Reimer said.
Manitoba recently started vaccinating the general population, starting with the oldest age groups, after focusing initially on people in nursing homes, health-care workers and other specific categories. The province is currently booking appointments for First Nations people aged 67 and up and others aged 87 and up.
Manitoba will also receive its first shipment next week of the recently approved Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which a national panel has recommended not be used on people 65 and older.
The province will use that vaccine on people aged 50 to 64 who have underlying health conditions, Dr. Reimer said, and doses will be distributed largely through pharmacists and doctors’ offices.
Dr. Reimer said a list of the underlying conditions will be released next week, but she has previously given examples such as people who have kidney failure and are on dialysis.
Manitoba’s COVID-19 indicators continued to drop Friday from a spike in the fall. Health officials reported 53 additional cases and one death. The percentage of people testing positive, which once topped 13 per cent, was down to 3 per cent provincewide and 2.4 per cent in Winnipeg.
“The horizon isn’t too far down the road here. We’re going to be in a really good spot, I think,” said Dr. Jazz Atwal, the province’s deputy chief public health officer.
“Just remain resilient a little longer and I think Manitobans won’t be disappointed.”
Premiers say federal COVID-19 vaccine procurement delays have left them no choice but to stretch out the time between doses. British Columbia announced Monday it would allow up to four months between doses. Several other provinces followed suit after a national panel of vaccine experts recommended such an extension would be appropriate if supplies are limited.
The Canadian Press
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