Ottawa residents may have to interchange mRNA vaccines as more Moderna doses arrive, city says
The head of Ottawa's COVID-19 vaccine rollout says the city will attempt to have both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines available at all 11 community clinics to offer residents the same dose for a second shot.
But with a flood of Moderna vaccines scheduled to arrive in Ottawa and Canada, general manager of emergency and protective services Anthony Di Monte says at some point, "you'll be asked to take the mRNA vaccine that's available to you."
Ottawa received a shipment of 53,800 doses of Pfizer this week, along with 31,360 doses of Moderna. On Friday, Di Monte told council 27,000 doses of Moderna vaccines were scheduled to arrive on Friday, along with an additional "strategic allocation" of 35,000 Moderna vaccines.
According to the Ottawa Public Health COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, 498,690 Ottawa residents 12 and older have received a Pfizer vaccine for the first dose, while 115,676 residents have received a first dose of Moderna vaccine. A total of 66,996 residents have received an AstraZeneca vaccine as their first dose.
In an interview on Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with guest host Graham Richardson on Friday, Di Monte joked that Ottawa was a "Pfizer community" for the first part of the vaccine rollout.
Di Monte says while Ottawa will continue to receive its weekly shipment of Pfizer doses, there will be "a lot more Moderna."
"We are going to attempt to have in all our sites kind of a mix, so we'll try at the beginning to always offer you the first vaccine that you got – so if you got a Moderna, you'll get a Moderna. If you got a Pfizer, we'll try to give you a Pfizer," said Di Monte.
"But I think we will get to a point that will become more and more difficult and so you'll be able to get a vaccine, there will be a vaccine waiting for you, that's been our commitment it will be there but it might not be the one you got initially."
Ottawa Public Health issued a statement this week, encouraging Ottawa residents to take the first COVID-19 vaccine available as your second dose to provide earlier two-dose protection.
Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches told CTV News at Six on Wednesday that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization updated its recommendation on the interchangeability of vaccines.
"The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has said that the COVID vaccines are interchangeable, which means you can start with one vaccine and finish your series with a different one," said Etches.
"When it comes to the mRNA vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, they are practically identical in the way the science works, in the way the studies were done, the effectiveness and the side effects – so, this is definitely something we would support. People are trying to get their second dose and as soon as they can."
Ottawa Public Health insists all COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in Canada are safe and effective and they will reduce the risk of serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths.
On Monday, the Ontario government will expand the eligibility to receive an accelerated second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to residents 18 and older who received their first dose before May 9.
Starting June 28, all adults will be eligible to book an accelerated second dose appointment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Competition bureau finds 'substantial' anti-competitive effects with proposed Bunge-Viterra merger
The proposed merger of agricultural giants Viterra and Bunge is raising competition concerns from the federal government.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.