As two new Health Canada approved vaccines start to arrive at pharmacies, public health officials are encouraging those who most need protection to get the updated vaccines to help protect against currently circulating variants that cause COVID-19. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) says updated vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are scheduled to arrive in provinces and territories by next week. Pharmacies and public health units, or their local equivalents, will then distribute the products.
The updated mRNA vaccines target the Omicron subvariant known as KP.2. Based on Canadian viral sequencing data, KP subvariants continue to dominate.
"The vaccines can reduce the risk of infection," Dr. Don Sheppard, vice president of the agency's infectious diseases and vaccination programs branch, said in an interview with CBC News. "They're particularly effective at reducing severity of disease.
" Initial hopes that COVID shots would stop transmission altogether didn't materialize. Sheppard said the doses are important for people at higher risk of severe outcomes, such as individuals who: Are over age 65. Are immunocompromised.
Have trouble accessing health care such as First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, particularly those living on reserve. "I think shifting our focus to those individuals that we really want to protect from severe outcomes is a recognition we're in a different place right now." WATCH | COVID rapid tests harder to find: Is it COVID or just a cold? Dw.
