Canada’s public health agency announced Tuesday that Canadians can interchange the AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
“The interchangeability of vaccines means you could receive one vaccine product for your first dose and a different vaccine product for your second dose to complete your two-dose vaccine series,” the Public Health Agency of Canada stated in a press release.
Canada’s public health agency updated its recommendations, according to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). The update will allow provinces and territories to better manage their own COVID-19 vaccine programs, according to the press release.
Canadians may get a different type of vaccine for their second shot. https://t.co/KIs2Gnn6eb
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Specifically, NACI states that anyone who received the first dose of the AstraZeneca may take the AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for the second dose. Anyone who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for the first dose should take another Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for the second dose.
The public health agency acknowledged that blood clots have been associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine. (RELATED: REPORT: Eric Clapton Criticizes Coronavirus Vaccine ‘Propaganda’ After ‘Disastrous’ Experience)
“Because of this rare but serious adverse event, several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Spain and Sweden, began offering a second dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer- BioNTech or Moderna) to those who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD viral vector vaccine,” according to the press release.