Updated COVID-19 vaccines are starting to roll out to some high-risk Canadians, but others will have to wait a little while longer before these new shots are offered to them. Last month, Health Canada approved Pfizer and Moderna’s latest COVID-19 vaccines targeting the most recent variants of the virus. Both shots are approved for everyone aged six months and older.
The new mRNA vaccines from both pharmaceutical companies target the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron that was dominating COVID-19 spread earlier this year. While additional offshoots, particularly KP.
3.1.1, now are spreading in Canada, they’re closely enough related that the vaccines promise cross-protection.
As of Sept. 27, Moderna’s updated Spikevax shot was available for those six months of age and above, while Pfizer-BioNTech’s updated Comirnaty was available for those 12 years of age and older, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. In Ontario, the new vaccines are only being distributed to high-risk and priority populations through public health units, participating pharmacies and participating health care providers, according to the province’s health ministry.
“The updated COVID-19 vaccine will be available for all eligible individuals 6 months of age and older starting October 28, 2024,” Ontario’s Ministry of Health told Global News in an emailed statement on Friday. A pharmacist at Sam’s IDA pharmacy in Toronto told Global News they’re expecting the new vaccines after Thanksgiving..
