Our vaccination clinic: Pausing administration of the AstraZeneca Vaccine
05/11/2021
Following the direction of the province, the Bruyère vaccine clinic will be pausing administration of the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Anyone who had a first dose appointment coming up should have received a cancellation notice, if not this means we probably don’t have the right email address for you. Please email vaccination@brueyre.org if you did not receive a cancellation.
For those that have received their first dose of AstraZeneca at our clinic, we understand that there are many questions. We have them too. Here is what we know now and are working to confirm for you.
Why was this change made now?
There were several reasons for this change including:
- The calculated rates of rare blood clots with this vaccine are rising. The province quoted 1:60,000 chance of VITT in making this recent decision.
- We are starting to see falling rates of COVID-19 infection in the province
- There are increasing supplies of vaccine alternatives coming into Ontario
- Younger patients experience lower risks associated with getting COVID-19 and therefore the expected benefit to risk ratio for younger patients is falling
Should I have waited for a different vaccine?
Those who made the choice to get an AstraZeneca vaccine when it was available to them made the right choice. You took steps to protect yourselves and those around you. This decision was made based on the risk calculation at the time and was a decision well made.
Thank you!
What about second doses?
What this means for second doses is not yet clear. AstraZeneca is still approved for use for second doses and current recommendations are to stay consistent with brands for first and second doses.
Studies are underway to look into the possibility of mixing two types of vaccines (an AstraZeneca first dose and Pfizer second dose, for example). We should have the results of these studies in approximately two weeks’ time.
We’re following closely and will share what we find.
If you had your first dose of AstraZeneca with us, your placeholder appointment is still in our calendars. We will be in touch to confirm the vaccine type that is recommended and with further instructions on booking your second appointment.
What does this mean for the Bruyère vaccine clinic?
We are working closely with Ottawa Public Health to figure out our next steps as a clinic and are ready to pivot and administer all vaccine types that are available for use in Canada, under the direction of the province and Ottawa Public Health.
The one constant we’re getting used to is change. We’re committed to adjusting and updating as the situation changes.
Where can I get updates?
We will continue to share updates via our website.
We will follow up with everyone who had a vaccine appointment booked that was cancelled when we have updates on the next steps for our clinic. If you have an opportunity to get vaccinated before you hear from us, we encourage you to take this as we can’t guarantee what our eligibility and availability will look like.
We will follow up with everyone who had their first dose of AstraZeneca with us, your placeholder appointment is still in our calendars and we will be in touch to confirm the vaccine type that is recommended and with further instructions on booking your second appointment.
We’re here to answer your questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out via vaccination@bruyere.org.