Ontario Will Continue to Offer AstraZeneca for Second Doses

Friday, 18 June 2021 at 10:51

The Ontario Ministry of Health has released a statement following NACI's advice to mix vaccine doses for people who received AstraZeneca.

The Ontario Ministry of Health has released a statement, following recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to mix vaccine doses, if you received AstraZeneca as your first dose.

The Province of Ontario will continue to administer AstraZeneca to people who received the vaccine as a first dose, with their informed consent. You can read the entire statement from the Ministry of Health below:

"The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has updated its recommendations on first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in Canada.

In Ontario, the AstraZeneca vaccine is currently available for those who wish to receive it as a second dose, with informed consent, through select pharmacy and primary care channels.

NACI has noted that people who have received one or both doses of AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine can rest assured that the vaccine provides good protection against infection and very good protection against severe disease and hospitalization. These individuals did the right thing to prevent illness, and to protect their families, loved ones and communities.

All COVID-19 vaccines available in the province, including AstraZeneca, have been determined to be safe and effective by Health Canada, and have been shown to prevent serious illness, hospitalization and death associated with COVID-19.

If you had Moderna or Pfizer for your first dose, you can safely take either Moderna or Pfizer for your second dose for strong protection. Both Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are authorized for use in Canada and use a similar mRNA technology, so the vaccines are interchangeable and safe to mix. If you had AstraZeneca for your first dose, you can safely take either AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer for your second dose for strong protection.

To ensure maximum protection against COVID-19 and the Delta variant, Ontarians should get vaccinated as soon as they can and book their second dose as soon as they are eligible."