Canada halting AstraZeneca vaccine shots for people 55 and younger

[Steelrolled]

Source: CNN

Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended Monday that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine should not be used in adults under age 55 while rare cases of serious blood clots following vaccination are being investigated, according to a release from the committee.

The rare cases of serious blood clots, known as vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT), have recently been reported in Europe following post-licensure use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, primarily in women under the age of 55.

According to the vaccine committee, the rate of this adverse event is still to be confirmed and information is being gathered to be more accurate.

"Following population-based analyses of VIPIT assessing risk of COVID-19 disease by age, and considering that alternate products are available (i.e., mRNA vaccines), from what is known at this time, there is substantial uncertainty about the benefit of providing AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to adults under 55 years of age given that the potential risks associated with VIPIT, particularly at the lower estimated rates," committee officials said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/29/americas/canada-astrazeneca-vaccine-intl/index.html

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They got to do what they got to do, but this doesn't help persuade people to get the vaccine. I'm glad the US has three other vaccines currently being produced in great quantities, so we can stay out of the AZ controversies.

[Haggard Celine]

1. I'm glad we aren't using it, too.

I'm sure Fox is having a field day over the fact that the Canadian and European 'socialized medicine' systems aren't doing a good job at vaccinating their citizens. They should be doing better than this.

[Steelrolled]

2. Well, the EU did make some serious mistakes, but it had little to do with

their medical systems. What is odd is that each EU member state has their own health system, yet responsibility for obtaining vaccines was done at the EU level. In my view, the EU simply doesn't have experience in that kind of task. And of course the EU may have gambled too much on the French vaccine, which maybe was bad management, but was also a little bad luck.

Many nations around the world will be looking to become more self sufficient in this area. It has to be hard for Germany to realize they played a major role in the Pfizer vaccine, but it is an American company who largely controls it.

[Haggard Celine]

3. Yes, a lot of Germans are probably not happy about that.

The EU seems kind of like the American colonies were under the Articles of Confederation. The central government just doesn't seem to have the ability to get things done like our central government does. Maybe that's by design.

[LisaL]

4. AstraZeneca is planning to apply for FDA authorization really soon.

Last edited Tue Mar 30, 2021, 11:35 AM - Edit history (1)

Their trial in the US didn't show any increase in blood clot formation. They also achieved ~76% efficacy rate. So presumably they will be granted emergency authorization. US ordered 300 millions of vaccines from AstraZeneca so will be interesting to see if it will become available in the US soon.

[Haggard Celine]

5. I would've taken it if

that’s what I’d been offered. We probably won’t have to order that many vaccines from them, not as a percentage of overall vaccines, I think.

[LisaL]

6. We already ordered (back in a day)

Not sure what we will do with 300 millions of AstraZeneca vaccines.

[Haggard Celine]

7. We'll probably give a lot away

to poor countries and sell others. I’ve read a lot of countries haven’t gotten any yet. The people who can pay are the ones who live. They’re taking more precautions in a lot of those other countries, though.

[luvtheGWN]

8. Canada ordered 400M doses of vaccines

from 7 different suppliers. The problem has been delivery. Our over 75's have been vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna (including all long-term care residents, first responders, medical workers etc.) and just this week those of us 70-75 have been able to book. My appointment is next week. But we've extended the second dose to 4 months. Not what was advised but knowing the first vaccination appears to greatly reduce chances of infection, that's what the government decided.

But the Astra Zeneca vaccine (and Biden leant us 1.5M doses) was about to be available to all adults until worries about severe blood-clotting events came out.

Meanwhile over 12M in the UK have had their second AZ vaccination, and no problems there.

Years, ago there was a huge and very successful lab in Toronto (Connaught Labs attached to University of Toronto, where Drs. Banting and Best discovered insulin and changed diabetics' lives forever). A Conservative Prime Minister decided Canada didn't need that lab and arranged for it to be sold to U.S.' big pharma.

Bad things happen when conservatives are in power. Another example was the Avro Arrow, the first supersonic airplane which would have made Canada one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers. All the talent was right there. But the Conservative Prime Minister said it cost too much money.

Conservatives never look forward, they only look back, more's the pity.

BTW, all those unused doses Canada ordered will be going to third world countries. That is, if they're ever delivered to us...

[Haggard Celine]

9. I hope y'all get them and soon.

I see y’all have your own drama going on up there. I get wrapped up in ours and forget that every single country has its own issues. Hope we can get these shots out soon to all that need them and get this scourge behind us, at least this stage of it.

[LisaL]

10. Yea, I am not sure what to make of the blood clotting incidents.

The clinical trials, including in the US, did not show any increase in severe blood clotting incidents. Is there some problem with a specific batch? Do some affected people have a genetic mutation making them prone to these severe blood clots? As Canada didn't have this blood clotting issue, not sure it makes a lot of sense to stop vaccinating the population.

[luvtheGWN]

11. The blood clotting problems

seem to have mostly affected females under 50. I wonder how many of them were on the pill? I haven't read anything that discusses them as individuals with possible disorders or medications that could have caused the clotting. In fact, per capita those that received the vaccine had fewer clotting problems than the general population.

I think it's really been a UK vs EU issue, plus the fact that the EU is dealing with so many individual countries, each with its own health directorate.

[LiberalLovinLug]

12. Yup, Conservatives strike again.

It absolutely sucks to watch other countries, like the motherland, the UK, be so far ahead. And even the US, no matter how much Trump screwed up and delayed the process there.

I'm 62, and (hopefully) without more delays, I still must wait until June sometime to get my first shot. And most Canadians may have to wait until the Summer is over before they get their first shot.

Connaught Labs discovered insulin, and also provided imunization shots for Canadians for smallpox, tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough throughout last century. We were a world leader in vaccine production and were even called by the WHO to lead in the development of that small pox vaccine.


What's worse for Canadian tax payers, who Conservatives are always crowing about helping.....

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2020/03/11/the-public-lab-that-could-have-helped-fight-covid-19-pandemic.html

Not only do we no longer have Connaught Labs, but Canada spends $1 billion a year funding basic medical research at Canadian universities, yet relies on the private marketplace to produce, control — and profit from — the resulting medical innovations.

For instance, the crucial work in developing a vaccine to treat Ebola was done by Canadian scientists at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg — and financed by Canadian taxpayer money. But sole licensing rights to the vaccine were granted to a small U.S. company, which then sublicensed it to pharmaceutical giant Merck for $50 million.