Health Canada was already reviewing a BA.1 vaccine from Pfizer, but said it chose to prioritize the newer vaccine because it was expected to be in higher demand.
If it has been less than three months since a COVID-19 infection or a booster, the new bivalent vaccine is not recommended because it will not be as effective, Sharma said. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical adviser. “We are starting to see an increase in cases, we are heading into the fall season, there’s a lot of gatherings and festivals that are happening as well, so we know that there’s going to be increasing circulating virus,” said Dr. Health Canada said 88 per cent of the COVID-19 cases identified in mid-September were BA.5 and nine per cent were BA.4. The Moderna vaccine is approved for people who are 18 and older. The Moderna combination shot approved five weeks ago targets the original virus and the first Omicron variant, while the Pfizer shot targets the BA.4 and BA.5 strains. It is the second combination vaccine greenlighted by Health Canada’s vaccine review team, but the first that targets the virus strains that are now most common in Canada. “Evidence continues to show that original mRNA vaccines provide good protection against serious illness and hospitalization,” he said. Njoo said people who already had a booster shot of the original mRNA vaccines do not need to get a bivalent booster. Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief public health officer, said on Thursday. “Canada will have enough supply of the Omicron-targeting bivalent vaccines to cover the anticipated demand for fall boosters,” Dr. Health Canada said the bivalent booster has already been given to nearly five million people in the United States and there have been no new safety concerns. The vaccine, which is approved for people at least 12 years old, can be given three to six months after a second dose of the primary vaccine series, or the most recent booster shot. Health Canada approved on Thursday the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster vaccine that targets the BA.4 and BA.5 strains of the Omicron variant.
0 kommentar(er)
