Victoria pharmacist Patrick Falkiner didn’t know what to expect when the province rolled out supplies of AstraZeneca this week for pharmacies to administer second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“I expected there to be some hesitancy for sure, but I’m finding everyone I’ve given the opportunity to to get a second dose of AstraZeneca is taking it,” said Falkiner, who works at the Cridge Family Pharmacy on Fort Street.
“It’s been great — only one person I’m aware of has said ‘no’ because of an allergic reaction,” he said. “Everyone has tried to book an appointment as soon as possible. I was a little surprised myself.”
Falkiner’s experience is in line with what officials are seeing, said Dr. Réka Gustafson, the deputy provincial health officer, as people who received AstraZeneca shots are being contacted about getting their second doses.
“We do know that lots of people who received AstraZeneca vaccine would like — and are ready to receive — the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine,” Gustafson said.
She said the AstraZeneca vaccine is highly effective, with the best results coming after two doses.
While the usual advice is to get the same type of vaccine for both doses, the province is offering Pfizer or Moderna to people who received AstraZeneca, which can cause serious but rare vaccine-induced blood clots in about one in 100,000 people as a first dose and one in 600,000 as a second dose. There have been three cases of vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia, known as VITT, in B.C.
Second doses of AstraZeneca are available through pharmacies, which are contacting people now. Pfizer and Moderna are available by signing up through the province’s Get Vaccinated program at gov.bc.ca/getvaccinated or 1-833-838-2323.
Supply shortages may mean some who received Moderna will be offered Pfizer as a second dose.
When it comes to preventing serious cases of COVID-19, getting two doses of AstraZeneca is similar to getting two doses of the other vaccines, Gustafson said, and a person is likely to experience milder side effects when getting a second dose of the same type of vaccine.
In all, 3,635,795 doses of one of three COVID vaccines have been administered in B.C., including 314,246 second doses.
Seventy-four per cent of adults have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 72 per cent of all eligible British Columbians age 12 and older. When just those age 40 and older are considered, over 80 per cent have had a first dose of vaccine.
The province saw 481 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, including nine in Island Health, bringing the number of active cases in B.C. to 2,102. Twelve additional deaths were reported, all in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions.
There were 63 people in critical care, including 38 who require mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit, Gustafson said. By comparison, the height of the third wave saw 511 hospitalizations and 183 critical and instensive care patients.
In Island Health, there were 56 active cases of COVID-19, including three people in hospital, none of whom were in critical or intensive care.
If cases continue to decline and vaccinations increase, public health will shift from pandemic emergency response to “a sustainable public health management” as is in place to prevent and control other communicable diseases, she said.
“Now we are in a much better position as a province, and we can start to focus on all there is to be gained through immunizations, there’s so much,” Gustafson said.
“If we keep going, we can get back to the things that sustain us,” she said. “Back to our communities. Back to work. Back to the meaningful relationships in our lives.”
