Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is not currently recommending the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca be used on people aged 65 or older.
According to the NACI website, this is “due to limited information on the efficacy of this vaccine in this age group at this time.”
However, the agency said the vaccine has “demonstrated an average efficacy of approximately 62 per cent in those aged 18-64 years of age.”
The vaccine received approval from Health Canada on Friday.
NACI said the AstraZeneca vaccine should be delivered in two doses four to 12 weeks apart.
However, the committee said the interval between the first and second dose of the vaccine may impact the shot’s efficacy, “with lower efficacy if the interval is less than 12 weeks.”
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The AstraZeneca vaccine became the third to receive regulatory approval in Canada, joining ones from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
Canada has ordered 24 million doses of the vaccine.
A senior government official told The Canadian Press on backround that the first of the AstraZeneca vaccines could arrive in the country as early as Wednesday, though the shipment has not been confirmed.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical adviser said while the vaccine was not tested on people over the age of 65, “emerging, promising” real-world data from countries already using the product suggest it is safe and effective among older age groups.
“For someone 65 years and older, the question is, the benefits of getting the vaccine versus not, will it outweigh the risk? The answer to that is yes, based on all the information we have,” she said.
The guidelines released by the NACI are recommendations, meaning provinces and territories have the final say on how the vaccines are ultimately administered within their jurisdiction.
-With files from Global News’ Rachael D’Amore and The Canadian Press
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
