OTTAWA -- The panel of medical experts advising the federal government on vaccination has expanded its recommendation for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to now include people 65 years of age and over.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) issued new advice Tuesday morning stating that the two-dose viral vector vaccine can and should be given to seniors.
Since the AstraZeneca vaccine's initial approval last month, NACI says it looked at three real-world studies that justify expanding the administration advice to include those 65 and older.
Those studies showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective “particularly against severe COVID-19 disease and hospitalization” in older adults including those over the age of 80 years old with comorbidities
Earlier this month NACI initially recommended against administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to Canadians 65 years of age and older, and said they should be prioritized for the mRNA Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines because there was stronger evidence of their efficacy in that age group.
NACI is still recommending the mRNA vaccines should be prioritized for use for those at higher risk of exposure, severe illness, and death.
The initial suggestion to hold off on administering this vaccine to people older than 65 was at odds with Health Canada’s February regulatory approval of the vaccine. Health Canada has said that the AstraZeneca vaccine has an efficacy of 62.1 per cent among people 18 to 64 years old.
“It's not that we're flip flopping, it's just that we try to monitor the evidence,” said NACI chair Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh during a briefing, when asked to address the impact the changing of guidance in such close succession may have had on vaccine confidence.
“It's always easier if Health Canada and NACI agree, but it doesn't have to be. It’s not the first time it doesn’t,” she said, noting that the new studies that have led to this evolution came to light following their initial guidance.
The NACI panel does not impose rules around vaccination. It only offers recommendations, which then allow provinces to tailor their own vaccination rollout plans to fit their needs.
The group says it will keep monitoring the new data coming in from ongoing clinical trials and real-world evidence of the effectiveness of all currently Health Canada-approved vaccines and will further revise its recommendations as needed
HEALTH CANADA ON CLOT CONCERNS
On Monday, Germany, France, Italy and Spain joined a list of European countries to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine following reports of blood clots in some recipients, despite European regulators indicating that there’s no evidence to support that the vaccine is to blame for blood clotting.
AstraZeneca has also said that a “careful review” of more than 17 million people who’ve received their vaccine in the U.K. and Europe found “no evidence” of an elevated blood clotting risk in any batch, or age group.
On Tuesday, Quach said NACI is monitoring the adverse events, but noted it’ll be up to Health Canada to weigh in on whether Canada would pause the use of this vaccine. So far the federal health agency continues to stand by its authorization of the AstraZeneca vaccine and says that the risk of contracting COVID-19 outweighs any potential complications.
“Health Canada is actively monitoring the ongoing situation in Europe… Based on the information that Health Canada has reviewed, the number of cases of thromboembolic adverse events at this point in time are lower than the rates that would be expected in the population that has been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine,” said Health Canada director Marc Berthiaume on Tuesday.
“We are aware of those cases, we are in direct communication with the European Medicines Agency… we are looking to get additional information about the case,” said Berthiaume, adding that more information will be made available on Thursday during an international meeting about these reports of adverse effects.
“At this point in time based on the information that has been distributed by and reviewed by Health Canada, there is no safety concern… but we're actively looking into the issue,” he said.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to assure Canadians that the vaccine is safe for use.
"Health Canada and our experts and scientists have spent an awful lot of time making sure every vaccine approved in Canada is both safe and effective," he told reporters in Montreal. "Therefore, the very best vaccine for you to take is the first one that is offered to you."
Canada is scheduled to receive 23.9 million doses of the vaccine, with the first 500,000 doses already being administered across the country.
With files from CTV News’ Nicole Bogart and Ben Cousins
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5jdHZuZXdzLmNhL2hlYWx0aC9jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy9uYWNpLWV4cGFuZHMtcmVjb21tZW5kYXRpb25zLWNsZWFyaW5nLXVzZS1vZi1hc3RyYXplbmVjYS1zLXZhY2NpbmUtZm9yLXBlb3BsZS02NS1hbmQtb2xkZXItMS41MzQ4ODkw0gFFaHR0cHM6Ly9iZXRhLmN0dm5ld3MuY2EvbmF0aW9uYWwvY29yb25hdmlydXMvMjAyMS8zLzE2LzFfNTM0ODg5MC5odG1s?oc=5
2021-03-16 14:46:00Z
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