Ontario to reduce age eligibility for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot to 40

The most populated province of Canada, Ontario is planning to offer the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 40 years & above. The vaccine is currently given to people who are over 55 years.

The move will help in improving vaccine accessibility amidst rising cases of Coronavirus in the country, cited sources with relevant information. It will also help in distributing AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines that have accumulated in pharmacies over time.

As per the official reports, Ontario has recorded around 4250 new Coronavirus cases on Sunday. Moreover, the Ontario Hospital Association stated that the number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs has currently reached 737, of which around 59 were hospitalized on Saturday itself.

Health Canada, the department of the Canadian government, which is responsible for the national health policy, had earlier stated that it would be analyzing reports of bleeding and blood clots suffered by a small number of people in other countries.

The health regulator will then determine whether it’s safe to administer AstraZeneca’s vaccine to people aged 40 and above. On the other hand, the National Advisory Council on Immunization (NACI) has recommended that the vaccine should only be administered to people who are 55 or older.

Health Canada, however, recommends that AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine should be given to people who are over 40 years of age since the side effects are relatively lesser as compared to its advantages.

The health regulator added that those receiving the vaccine dose should immediately seek medical attention if they start experiencing any side effects.  Following Health Canada’s statement, the chairperson of NACI reportedly said that the panel would release a new declaration on 20th April.

In related news, Denmark has stopped administering AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine while Norway has postponed its decision to recommend the use of the vaccine. Several other nations have also limited the use of the shot to older people over fears of the severe side effects.

Source Credits –

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/exclusive-canadas-ontario-expand-use-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-epidemic-rages-2021-04-18/