Ontario is moving forward with providing second doses of the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine.
Starting next week, anyone who got their first dose of the drug between March 10 and March 19 can opt to get an earlier shot.
Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. David Williams says bumping the second doses up to a 10 week schedule has been shown to be safe and provides strong protection against the virus.
“Nothing is more important than the health of Ontarians, and for the best protection against COVID-19 it is vital that everyone who received the AstraZeneca vaccine for their first dose receives a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,” Dr. Williams says. “We are providing these individuals with a safe option based on the available data and evidence and will continue to work with Health Canada to monitor the quality and efficacy of all COVID-19 vaccines being used in Ontario.”
The province has 55,000 doses of AstraZeneca on hand, many of which are set to expire at the end of the month.
Roughly 2400 Chatham-Kent residents got an AstraZeneca shot before the government pulled the drug’s use for first doses, however the drug wasn’t made available in Chatham-Kent until early April.