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By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Midway through the vaccine rollout, NACI’s curveball was not helpful

Jun 18, 2021 | 10:37 AM

IS ASTRAZENECA REALLY A SECOND-RATE VACCINE? The latest messaging from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) would certainly have you believe that.

For weeks, health officials have made clear that those who got AstraZeneca for their first shots would have the option of either another AstraZeneca dose or a dose of one of the mRNA vaccines — Pfizer or Moderna — for shot number two.

Dr. Bonnie Henry told us in B.C. that there was some evidence that mixing and matching might even be better – but she still advised everyone that the best vaccine was the first one you could get.

The overarching message was clear: it’s up to us, because there are no bad choices. Both types of vaccine available to Canadians will provide strong protection from COVID-19.

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NACI’s message this week — that mRNA vaccines are preferred — threw that completely into disarray, creating two different classes of vaccine.

The impact of NACI’s guidance is that people who chose AstraZeneca believe they have been duped into some third-rate vaccine made by charlatans.

It’s not. AstraZeneca is a fine vaccine.

Single doses of AstraZeneca quickly stomped out COVID hot spots right here in B.C. just a few months ago — hot spots like Prince Rupert, which saw nearly zero transmission within a few weeks of a targeted AstraZeneca campaign.

In the United Kingdom, two doses of AstraZeneca have proven to be very effective at preventing serious illness, even from the dreaded Delta variant.

These aren’t small clinical trials, like the German one NACI cited this week. These are large scale, real world examples of tremendous success.

There have been some questions about the United States, whose Food and Drug Administration has not approved AstraZeneca, marginalizing the A.Z. folk.

The theatre hosting Bruce Springsteen’s show on Broadway is only accepting those who have received FDA-approved doses.

Talk about a Tenth Avenue Freezeout.

That’s a hiccup that will sort itself out within a matter of months. No fewer than 172 other countries have approved AstraZeneca.

NACI’s advice didn’t have anything to do with whether cross-border travel or event attendance would be impacted.

It was supposedly about the science.

But people need to have confidence in the science, now more than ever, and the science — and the real world evidence — show we should have confidence in AstraZeneca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.