Alberta finalizing bivalent COVID vaccine plans as wait irks advocates - Calgary Herald

Dr. Jia Hu said having more targeted vaccines should generate a better immune response and more protection against Omicron infection

Publishing date:

Sep 13, 2022 • 5 hours ago • 3 minute read • 17 Comments

FILE PHOTO: Nurse Rachelle Lively was giving out COVID shots as part of the City of Calgary’s extension of its mobile vaccination outreach program, a short-term COVID-19 vaccination station launched at Southcentre Mall on Monday, January 3, 2022. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia

Alberta is finalizing plans for rolling out new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, which target multiple strains of the coronavirus.

The province says it’s reviewing the early September Health Canada approval of Moderna’s updated vaccine.

But one Alberta vaccine advocacy group is questioning why the province hasn’t yet announced details of its plans for the new vaccine, when provinces including Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan have started their bookings.

“The question is, what’s the advantage of waiting?” said Sarah Mackey with Vaccine Hunters Alberta.

“What do they expect to review that they don’t expect that the Health Canada review process and the (National Advisory Committee on Immunization) review process caught?”

In a statement to Postmedia, Alberta Health said availability of the bivalent vaccine will be subject to the province’s allocation of federal government supply. Public Health Canada data on vaccine distribution says Alberta had received 32,300 doses of the bivalent shots as of Sept. 8.

The Moderna bivalent vaccine booster shot is the first to be approved in Canada. It targets the previously prevalent strain of the virus and the Omicron variant BA.1, which strained Alberta’s health-care system during a wave of infections last winter.

A Pfizer bivalent vaccine targeting the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, which are dominant in Alberta, is available in the United States, with an application also submitted to Health Canada.

Having more targeted vaccines should generate a better immune response and more protection against Omicron infection, said Calgary public health physician Dr. Jia Hu.

He said there isn’t real-world data from clinical trials for the vaccines, but immune data show the new vaccines generate higher antibody responses than previous offerings.

“We don’t think they’ll be magic bullets in terms of how well the original vaccine worked against the original COVID, but it does certainly seem to give your immune response an increased performance,” Hu said.

It’s not unreasonable for Albertans currently eligible for a booster shot to wait until the bivalent shot is available, Hu said.

“I think this is one of the few times where it may actually make sense to wait,” he said. He added having some booster protection will be important for all Albertans to protect themselves and those around them as fall approaches.

“It’s been a nice summer, people have been able to live more normally, and that’s good. But I think we want to take all the precautions we can to keep everyone safe.”

Dr. Jia Hu poses for a photo in Prince’s Island Park. Saturday, June 26, 2021. Brendan Miller/Postmedia

Mackey said she counts this latest bivalent vaccine as Alberta’s 10th COVID-19 vaccine rollout, when including other brands and doses. She argued the process should be routine by now.

She said she’s spoken to many Albertans waiting on the new shot to become available to get boosted, forgoing protection as they wait for the province to roll out the vaccine.

“They have been late to the party every single time. There’s a complete lack of communication every single time,” she said. “It’s just inexcusable that again and again and again we’re behind the 8-ball.”

As of Sept. 5, the last date for which data is available, 82.6 per cent of eligible Albertans had received at least two shots of COVID-19 vaccine, and 41.8 per cent had at least one booster shot.

[email protected]

Twitter: @jasonfherring